Agriculture Minister David Littleproud defends shaming of Coles and Aldi over $1 milk, sells Woolworths shares

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud will sell his Woolworths shares after a backlash to his criticisms of Coles and Aldi for selling $1 milk.

As the debate over $1 milk heats up, the federal Agriculture Minister has opted to sell his shares in Woolworths while vowing to “continue to bash Coles and Aldi for their poor treatment of farmers”.

David Littleproud issued a statement today saying he intended to sell his 25 shares in Woolworths worth $756.25, noting they returned just $15 last year, to stop Labor “using it as a distraction from the real issue”.

The minister will donate the proceeds to the Western Queensland Drought Appeal.

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Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has opted to sell his shares in Woolworths while vowing to “continue to bash Coles and Aldi for their poor treatment of farmers”. Picture: Gary Ramage

“The reason I’ve chosen to sell this tiny number of shares was Labor was using it as a distraction from the real issue – dairy farmers aren’t getting paid a fair price for their milk,” Mr Littleproud said.

“The shares and their $15 return created absolutely no conflict of interest and I will continue to bash Coles and Aldi for their poor treatment of farmers, as well as Woolworths when they deserve it.

“I’ll also criticise other companies I have shares in – Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Telstra for instance – when they step out of line as I have for the two and a half years I’ve been in politics.

“Had I kept the 25 shares and their $15 return, some media would continue to give coverage to Labor highlighting me owning 25 Woolworths shares which returned $15 last year instead of the fact dairy farmers are not being paid fairly, and dairy farmers can’t afford that.”

Woolworths announced it would stop selling milk at $1 a litre yesterday. Picture: Supplied

Mr Littleproud yesterday accused Coles of pretending to be a decent corporate citizen and Aldi of “hiding under the stairs” after they failed to follow Woolworths and stop selling milk at $1 a litre.

He said the price war that began eight years ago had been a disaster for farmers.

The minister also hit out at Coles for saying it would run another donations drive to help struggling farmers, calling it a publicity stunt and a smokescreen.

His comments today come after Labor has lost a bid in federal parliament to set a mandatory minimum price for milk, which the agriculture minister labelled as a “cruel hoax” on Australia’s dairy farmers.

The opposition’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon attempted to halt business in parliament to force a vote about asking the competition watchdog to consider a minimum price of milk.

Labor wants the ACCC to test how a farm gate milk price would work. Picture: Supplied

Labor wants the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to test how a minimum farm gate milk price would work to protect the struggling dairy industry.

“Our farmers aren’t making money, most are losing money,” Mr Fitzgibbon told the chamber this morning.

“The great ironic part of the market is our retailers aren’t making money either, but in this case because they choose not to.”

Labor was looking to test the Nationals on the vote, but lost 69 to 74, with Mr Littleproud labelling the move as a political stunt.

“This is a cruel hoax to the dairy farmers of this nation,” he said.

Opposition’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon attempted to force a vote about asking the competition watchdog to consider a minimum price of milk. Picture: Supplied

Mr Littleproud said he was taking steps with the industry to create a mandatory code of conduct, which is due to begin by mid-2020.

Despite the loss in parliament, Labor has promised to investigate a mandated minimum price for milk if the party wins the next federal election.

Labor is also promising to establish a mandatory dairy code of conduct to ensure the market is functioning fairly for all participants.

Woolworths stopped selling its home-brand milk at $1 a litre on Tuesday, upping the price by 10 cents with the extra money to go back to farmers.

Coles said it would not axe its $1-a-litre Coles-branded milk, citing cost of living pressures on customers.

Aldi said low prices were a core promise to its customers, and it did not support retailer-led initiatives seeking to bypass the normal supply chain.