GARY ADSHEAD:
Now it’s up to the government to try and stop the supermarkets from doing it. So, I’m very keen to find out how they’re going to do it. Stephen Jones is the Assistant Treasurer within the Albanese government and joins me on the line. Thanks very much for your time, Stephen.
STEPHEN JONES:
Gary, good to be with you.
ADSHEAD:
Well, I think everyone’s had an experience of shrinkflation. How will the federal government stop it?
JONES:
Look, everything from cereal to cleaning products to hot cross buns have been involved in, you know, the package getting smaller and the price getting bigger. So, we’ve had enough and I know that consumers have had enough. So, new changes to the code which applies to unit pricing. Three key things. Firstly, an expansion of who it applies to. Secondly, making it absolutely clear that the unit prices, that is, how much per gram, how much per litre, how much per millilitre is clearly displayed and not obscured by other advertising and other tricks of the trade, clearly displayed so that people can clearly compare what they’re paying for. And finally, big hefty fines that haven’t previously existed of up to a million dollars for each and every breach. So, these 3 things combined will have a significant impact and give a big uplift for consumers.
ADSHEAD:
Obviously, it’s a fairly blatant tactic. I mean, CHOICE has exposed, you know, some good examples of things that were 560 grams for $4.50, you know, dropping right down to 495 grams for the same price. I mean, they’ve known what they’ve been doing. Is there any room to fine them retrospectively?
JONES:
Not really. We’ve had a look at this. Unless there are some clear examples of deceptive and misleading conduct, often harder to prove. So, this is just one of the measures that we’re putting in place to stop the rip offs at our supermarkets. We’ve got new competition measures that we’re putting in place. Very pleased, be very pleased to see that the ACCC is looking at some of the pricing rorts that have been going on. Court action underway at the moment. So, right across a range of areas, we want to ensure that Australians, Australian households aren’t being ripped off when they go to the supermarket.
ADSHEAD:
You talk about the improvement on readability and visibility of unit pricing, et cetera. Still, though, it comes down to the shopper. They’ve got to take some responsibility for perhaps looking closer than we have.
JONES:
Yeah, look, nothing is going to take away from the consumer, the shopper’s choice. They want to compare brands and compare products, but they should be able to do that on a like‑for‑like basis. Compare oranges with oranges, apples with apples. And the way to do that is to get a price per mil, a price per gram, a price per litre on the products that they’re shopping for, and to be able to see and compare whether the packages got smaller and, you know, the prices got bigger. So, these tricks of the trade that manufacturers and shopping centres have been using, they’ve got to stop. Australians are doing it tough and they want to see the government coming in behind them and backing them on these simple things that we can do.
ADSHEAD:
Out of interest, I mean, have the giant supermarket chains said why they’ve done it? Have they tried to justify that kind of behaviour?
JONES:
Look, they always try and defend their behaviour, but I think Australians and the Australian Government are seeing through it. The Prime Minister himself has made this a personal mission of his, wanting to ensure that Australian shoppers are getting a better deal. And the shrinkflation rip offs is just one of the areas where we think we need to lift the bar and hold supermarkets to account.
ADSHEAD:
Can I just ask you then, a timeframe? Because that’s what people want to know. How quick do we expect to start to see this clearer sort of labelling, et cetera, happen?
JONES:
Will require new laws and codes of practice to be introduced, but this is a priority, something that we want to see happen as quickly as is humanly possible. Nothing stopping supermarkets from doing the stuff voluntarily right away, nothing stopping them from doing that. And the new fines and penalties that are coming down the chute as well will create a great incentive for them to do the right thing?
ADSHEAD:
That’s a good point. We always wait for legislation, we always wait for law changes, but there’s sometimes the ability just to do the right thing, as you said. I mean, is there any chance, have you any chance that you’d write to them and say, in the meantime, can you just do the right thing?
JONES:
There’ll be discussions with the supermarkets over the week ahead, no doubt about that, and that’ll be the message that was delivered to them. Can I just say one thing? I know that many of your listeners will be angry about this and other things. Please don’t take it out on the supermarket staff, the people working on the counters and in the aisles. They’re just doing their job, right to be angry, but take it out – send your emails, your messages and your complaints to the people upstairs, not the people who are down there on the shop floor.
ADSHEAD:
It’s been a pretty bumpy road for the supermarket chains, Coles and Woolies of late. Do you think that the Australian public have lost trust in them.
JONES:
I think there’s no doubt that what were once trusted brands are now being put under the microscope. I think Australians have had enough. You know, the alleged pricing rorts, where things are supposed to be on special, but we discover they jack the prices up before lowering them slightly. Now, this sort of stuff, it’s just too smart by half. And Australians have had a gutful of it and we’ve got to stop these rorts.
ADSHEAD:
You would expect that they’re sitting in boardrooms, et cetera, having a good old look at themselves here. What do you expect them to do for the public to try and win back that trust now?
JONES:
Stop treating Australians like mugs. We’re not mugs. Stop treating Australians like mugs. Run a very profitable business. You’ll continue to be able to make profit, but there’s no place for greed and there’s no place for this sort of sharp practice which is ripping Australians off.
ADSHEAD:
All right, Stephen Jones, appreciate your time today.
JONES:
Good to be with you.