Dutton’s populist plans won’t cut your grocery bills
When politicians reach for the first ‘populist’ policy they can find to address voter concerns about rising prices, they’re doing a disservice to themselves and the electorate.
If cutting the cost of groceries was as easy as breaking up Coles and Woolworths, Anthony Albanese would have done it by now – or at least tried. If only solving the cost of living crisis was that simple.
A few weeks ago Peter Dutton said that if he were prime minister, he might force insurance companies to divest assets, “if consumers are being ripped off”. Not surprisingly, the Business Council of Australia issued an angry response that the Coalition ignored. Peter Dutton and his shadow ministers wouldn’t have been bothered in the slightest they were being attacked by big business.
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John Roskam is a senior fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs. Connect with John on Twitter.
