Australian Greens Launch Parliament Inquiry Into Supermarket Price Gouging

Australia’s major supermarkets will be subject to a new investigation amid accusations of profiting from the cost of living crisis. On Dec. 3, the Australian Green Party announced that they would launch a senate inquiry into the alleged price-gouging practice of major supermarkets. The inquiry will scrutinise the impact of market concentration on food prices as well as how two major supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, implement their pricing strategies. Specifically, it will assess the price growth of essential items, the validity of discounts offered by supermarkets, as well as the changes in their profits during economic hardship. Greens Senator Nick McKim alleged that Coles and Woolworths, which commanded around 65 percent of Australia’s grocery market in the 2021-2022 financial year, were making billions in profits by price gouging in a living cost crisis....