Select Committee on Grocery Pricing in South Australia

Adjourned debate on motion of Hon. R.A. Simms:

That the report of the select committee be noted.

(Continued from 27 November 2024).

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (17:07): I will be exceptionally brief. I just wanted to take this opportunity, on behalf of the Labor Party, to thank the Hon. Mr Simms for forming this grocery pricing committee and to thank the members on it: the Hon. Ben Hood, the Hon. Jing Lee and the Hon. Mira El Dannawi.

This committee was conducted in good spirits and collaboration, and I think it did some great work grilling a number of witnesses, obtaining some very useful information and coming up with a number of useful recommendations worthy of consideration. However, I will just note that there was a dissenting statement from the Hon. Mira El Dannawi and myself regarding one of the issues. Apart from that all the other recommendations are certainly worthy of consideration.

The Hon. B.R. HOOD (17:08): I will try to speak as briefly as the Hon. Mr Martin on the findings of the Select Committee on Grocery Pricing in South Australia. It is safe to say that our farms and primary producers are the backbone of South Australia. They are some of the best in the world, working through droughts, rising costs and tightening margins to keep food on our tables, so I really thank the Hon. Roberts Simms for bringing this select committee to the council.

I will just touch on a couple of things. The committee did find that there was a lack of transparency around grocery pricing and that it was a factor in contributing to higher prices. We heard evidence from AUSVEG SA, which represents the state's vegetable growers, that margins for farmers are shrinking yet retail prices are continuing to rise, with some growers reporting markups of some 3 to 600 per cent between what they are paid at the farm gate and what consumers are charged at the checkout.

We also heard that many producers and growers were feeling pressure from category buyers, and while they were working on efficiencies within their own businesses, they were then getting pressure put on them to lower their prices for what they would be selling to those big supermarkets, which was troubling to hear.

We also heard from some regional people down in my home patch of Mount Gambier, and I sincerely want to thank the Salvos and Foodbank, and Lynne and the team at Foodbank Mount Gambier, who do such a great job in ensuring that those who are struggling are getting the food that they need and that there is some food security for them, most especially in the regions.

We do need to back our farmers. They do deserve fair prices, and everyone in our community deserves access to affordable, healthy food. South Australians deserve a grocery market that works for them, not just for the major supermarkets, so again I thank the members of the committee. I thank the Hon. Rob Simms for bringing it to us, and I am glad that, for the most part, we have agreed on all of those recommendations.

The Hon. J.S. LEE (17:10): I rise today to speak briefly in support of the report of the Select Committee on Grocery Pricing in South Australia. It was a privilege to be on this select committee. I would like to thank the diligent committee Chairperson, the Hon. Robert Simms, for his excellent leadership and passion on this important issue. I also want to thank my fellow committee members the Hon. Frank Pangallo, the Hon. Reggie Martin, the Hon. Mira El Dannawi and the Hon. Ben Hood for their valuable contributions. A special thank you, of course, to the hardworking committee secretary, Leslie Guy, and research officer, Dr Margaret Robinson, for their support and comprehensive work during the inquiry stage and in preparation of the final report.

With the current cost-of-living crisis impacting everyone in our community, it is perhaps no surprise that the committee found that there is a lack of transparency around grocery pricing in South Australia and that this is a factor contributing to the high prices which are placing increased pressure on South Australian families. The committee also found that there is a significant power imbalance between big retailers and primary producers and that a lack of competition is contributing to higher grocery prices, particularly in regional areas.

I thank all the witnesses who took time to share their knowledge and experience by presenting themselves before the committee. The submissions that the committee received from all the stakeholders and businesses have provided important findings to enable members to work collaboratively in coming up with a set of sensible recommendations that are tabled in this report.

A number of site visits were conducted. It was an insightful site visit to the Woolworths distribution centre and Foodbank Food Hub in Mount Gambier. I thank all the management team and volunteers of those organisations who hosted our visit and for spending valuable time with the committee to discuss the significant cost-of-living issues facing metropolitan and regional community members.

I encourage all members to read the report and recommendations of the committee, and I urge the government to seriously consider all the recommendations, particularly the consideration of additional cost-of-living relief, additional support to charities and support agencies that provide access to low-cost food, and the potential for a payroll tax exemption for fresh produce businesses and primary production food businesses to reduce costs to industry and encourage competition. With those remarks, I commend the report.

The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (17:13): I thank all members for their contribution: the Hon. Mr Martin, the Hon. Jing Lee and the Hon. Ben Hood. In addition, I thank the Hon. Mira El Dannawi for her contribution to the committee. As other members have observed, I think this committee was an example of actually what this chamber does well, and that is all of us of different political perspectives coming together to confront a challenging problem.

Of course, there is no greater problem facing the people of our state at the moment than the cost-of-living crisis. It is front and centre for so many South Australians, and so many people in our community are doing it tough at the moment, in particular when it comes to being able to put food on the table for their families, so grocery prices are a really important issue for us to confront as a parliament. We know of course that it requires leadership from politicians in Canberra. That was one of the things that was identified in the report. But there are also some things that can be done here locally within our jurisdiction, and the recommendations of the report speak to that.

I want to thank all of the members who engaged with the committee for the collaborative and collegial way in which they engaged. In particular, I want to thank the Hon. Ben Hood for his work in assisting us in Mount Gambier and finding people for the committee to meet with. That was very helpful, and I do appreciate that. I look forward to being able to engage with the government around the recommendations in coming months, but also there are things that the opposition and indeed all members of the parliament may wish to take up as we head towards the next state election. I look forward to engaging with members around the recommendations.

Motion carried.