Greens Senator Nick Mckim Proposes $30m Plan to Put Aldi in Tasmania
Greens Senator Nick McKim has proposed a new plan that would allocate $30m to the state government to help establish other retailers, like Aldi, in Tasmania. According to Mckim, supermarket competition in the small state is currently dominated by Coles and Woolworths.
“A lack of competition means shoppers here are paying at least $15 more on a basket of essential groceries compared to Aldi, which adds up to hundreds of dollars a year.”
Details of the Plan
The Greens plan to break up the supermarket duopoly would address the problem of price gouging allegedly happening in the bigger supermarkets.
“Coles and Woolworths have had it too good for too long and Tasmanians are paying the price,” Mr McKim said.
The plan to put stores like Aldi in Tasmania would include new laws to make price gouging illegal. Additionally, Greens plan suggests a Price Commission that would hold big supermarkets accountable.
The Greens plan would use tax revenue from “billionaires” and “big corporations” to fund reviews that would identify the obstacles preventing small retailers from entering the market. Approximately $2m would be put into supermarket competition review.
As a supportive measure, the funds would go into making government land available to these supermarket retailers on a competitive basis.
Challenge to Establishing Aldi in Tasmania
“Labor is letting the supermarket duopoly run rampant, while the Liberals are missing in action. The Greens are the only party willing to take these big corporations on,” Mr McKim said.
Currently, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are the only states that Aldi does not operate in. A recent quarterly CHOICE survey found that groceries were cheaper on average at Aldi than at Coles and Woolworths.
According to the ACCC’s report released last month, Woolworth’s has about 38 percent of the market share. The ACCC didn’t call Coles and Woolworths a duopoly or say they were price gouging, but did but for greater transparency in the market.
In a time when consumer spending is declining, the Greens plan aims to make groceries affordable again.
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