Thursday, 5 October 2023

Southern Metropolitan Region

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (12:43): (442) My constituency question is for the Treasurer in the other place. My office receives many requests for financial assistance from my constituents. The most frequent request, regardless of the initial query, is help with the increased cost of living. We have heard from students who have had to drop their university load to work more, choosing to extend their education by years simply to make enough money to afford groceries, and from parents having to choose less nutritious food options as that is all they can afford. Too many members of my community are relying on food assistance programs simply to feed their families. There is blatant price gouging going on from the supermarket duopoly, and the government should investigate price caps on grocery essentials and declare groceries a regulated industry so that the Essential Services Commission can monitor for unfair price hikes in this cost-of-living crisis. My constituency question for the Treasurer is: what action is the government taking to stop supermarkets in my electorate of Southern Metro price gouging?