Fair share for a fair go

Restoring the land of opportunity and A fair go for owner operated business and farmers – For people that aspire to work for themselves. There has been a most destructive concentration of market power in the Australian food industry. Two supermarket chains control more than 90% of the market. The AC Nielson series in 2002 reported the market share of the big two at 76.7%.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1998, the last year of then Retail Trade Special Data Series had Woolworths and Coles market share at 62%. Both series showed that the growth of the market share each year exceeded 2%. The Annual Report to shareholders by Woolworths and Coles also claimed an average growth of 2%.

In stark contrast, the predominant Wal-Mart in America had in 2010 only 16.1% of the US market with the Big 2 in America under 23%.[1]

Australian consumers, farmers, owner-operated retail shops and businesses and independent supermarkets all are suffering as a result of this ever increasing ubiquitous predominance. Breaking down these two supermarket giants puts competitiveness and therefore lower prices back into the market as well as recreating a land where owner operated business can once again flourish.

AusParty’s Roadmap for the Future:

• Directs that no supermarket chain will have a market share exceeding 22%, corporate chains holding more than 22% will be capped at current market share and forced to divest down to below 22%. (Similar to Theodore Roosevelt’s Trust Busting legislation of the early 1900’s.)
• A Supermarket Fairness Tribunal will be established to oversight anti-competitive behaviour, misuse of market force and particularly to ensure that no mark-up exceeds 75% (farm gate to retail, less processing). To ensure this, a display of farm-gate prices will be put on all produce.
• Introduction of a Mandatory Code of Conduct requiring a sales docket (evidence of sale) for all farm produce and that proceeds of all sales by agents be banked into a trust account. As with real estate agents, lawyers, financial planners this would guarantee payment to farmers.
• Agricultural industries (for example dairying and sugar) will be provided with access to arbitration. A government constituted Food Market Arbitration Tribunal as provided to most other Australians through our Arbitration Commission (now called Fair Work Australia).