Victorian Greens push for govt to set supermarket prices shot down

A Victorian Greens push for the government to set supermarket prices in a bid to stop price gouging has failed to win support.

The Victorian Greens’ push for the government to set supermarket prices was shot down in parliament Picture: David Geraghty.

A push by the Victorian Greens to have the government set supermarket prices has been shot down.

The Greens were calling on the Labor government to use its powers under the Essential

Services Commission Act to declare supermarkets a regulated industry.

They said the action was needed to stop price gouging.

But the motion received just five votes in the upper house on Wednesday, garnering support from one other crossbencher, Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell.

The Victorian Greens pushed for the government to set supermarket prices Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty.

The failed attempt comes after Greens MPs rocked up to parliament with a bag of Woolies groceries.

Speaking outside parliament before the vote, North-East Metropolitan region MP Aiv Puglielli called out the supermarket giant for its “shocking” prices.

“We’ve got vegemite $5.40 … and a block of cheese $13.90,” he said.

“Frankly, the status quo right now is not good enough.”

“We need governments to take action on this.”

Victorian Greens MP arriving at Parliament with a bag of Woolies groceries. Picture: Carly Douglas

The Greens’ proposal received little support in parliament Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam said if the Victorian government declared supermarkets a regulated industry the Essential Services Commission would have the power to investigate, monitor and to set prices.

“It does so with other industries that we consider essential, and we think food is essential,” she said.

But the motion was opposed from all directions of the house, with the three major parties and most of the crossbench, including the Legalise Cannabis Party, voting it down.

Labor MP Ryan Batchelor labelled the motion a “political campaign designed to get clicks on social media”.

“The Greens have been preying on people’s vulnerabilities to gain attention for themselves on social media and to collect names, addresses and email addresses of people in the community so that they can add them to their mailing lists,” he said.

Mr Batchelor said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission already has the powers to investigate and was currently undertaking an inquiry into supermarket prices.

Liberal MP Evan Mulholland noted Woolworths had just recorded a loss of $781 million, recording a 2.5 per cent margin in their annual report.

“There is no detail on what they would actually do. How much would you regulate and control prices by?” he said.

“If you control prices by too much, Woolies is going to go bankrupt.”

Legalise Cannabis MP Rachel Payne said the Essential Services Commission was “not suited” to fulfilling such a major regulatory role.

“It lacks the funding, staff and other resources,” she said.