Ahead of a fiercely contested general election on May 3, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged Sunday to abolish supermarket price gouging and impose steep fines.
Voters frequently list the cost of living as their top issue, and the administration has proposed a number of measures to lower it, including a surprise income tax cut and a crackdown on supermarkets.
According to polls, the conservative opposition and the center-left government are tied for the election.
“Australians deserve a fair go at the checkout. We will hold the big supermarket chains to account,” Albanese told reporters, promising to introduce legislation this year.
“Price gouging is when supermarkets are taking the piss,” he said.
Asked how abuses would be addressed, he promised “heavy fines to make sure that they know that if they’re ripping people off, then they’re in the gun to pay a heavy penalty.”
The government would set up a task force with representatives from the Treasury, competition regulators and consumer groups to decide on action, Albanese said.
Australia was looking at overseas examples of regulating unfair pricing, he said, including in Britain and the European Union.
Australia has one of the most concentrated grocery sectors in the world, with big players Coles and Woolworths enjoying considerable power to set prices for consumers and suppliers.
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