Credit: Matt Golding
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INFLATION AT CHECKOUT ALL THE SUPERMARKETS’ FAULT?
There we were thinking that inflation was being caused by high interest rates, power prices, increased taxes, rent increases, etc, when all the time it was the fault of Coles and Woolworths, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (“Supermarket giants’ bogus deals hiked inflation: PM”, 24/9).
Tony O’Brien, South Melbourne
Little value for the consumer
The sign prominently displayed on the way out of my local Coles supermarket – after I have checked myself out – says “More Value With Every Scan”. But after the latest revelation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on how the supermarket behemoths, Coles and Woolworths, price-gouge, the sign could more truthfully read: “More Value (for us) with Every ScaM.”
Jessie Mackenzie, Brunswick
Not just Coles and Woolies playing this game
Why stop at Coles and Woolworths? Lounge suites “30% off” – off what? “Half price” – half of what? And as for the quoted RRP (recommended retail price) – recommended by whom?
Surely, the ACCC’s role of consumer protection needs to address “illusory discounts” across the board.
Jim Pilmer, Camberwell
Give the consumer the data
It would be interesting to require that a known customer (like loyalty card holders) be allowed to download their transaction history. No privacy issues, no breaches, it’s the customer’s data.
Savvy customers could then crunch their own historic data and know exactly how they have been screwed over time.
Chris Waters, Ormond
Reward us with real discounts
If Coles and/or Woolworths incur fines because of their pricing policies, where do these fines go? A better way may be to reward the consumer. Rather than fine these massive companies, force them to sell that product at half the recommended retail price for a period of three months.
Stephen Bell, Deanside
Shame on Coles and Woolies
How disappointing that at a time of cost-of-living crisis, Coles and Woolworths duped customers regarding groceries “on special”. Shame.
Mary Keating, Flemington
Supermarkets have been doing it since day one
Gee, what a surprise, supermarkets manipulating prices (“Supermarket giants’ bogus deals hiked inflation: PM”, 24/9). Don’t ACCC members shop for food? This practice has been going on since the “big supermarkets” entered the market.
I have been shopping twice a week for 50 years and I have been seeing this price manipulation in its various forms every week. It is so easy to see what is going on, particularly with the price of staple items that one purchases regularly.
We see news headlines that infer supermarkets have been secretive with this practice, yet it has been done in plain sight!
Phil Mackenzie, Eaglemont
Other big businesses are doing worse
If we are really concerned about price-gouging, the focus should not be on Australian supermarkets. They operate on small profit margins few other businesses would consider viable. Less than $3 of every $100 spent is profit.
Much higher profit margins operate in businesses such as high fashion and technology, yet plenty of consumers pay ridiculous prices for the latest sneakers or phones without complaining of exploitation.
Rod Wise, Surrey Hills
No respect for the customers
Now we know how Coles and Woolworths really regard their customers – dumb and easy to exploit. Kevan Porter, Alphington
THE FORUM
Brownlow vote queries
Congratulations Patrick Cripps, a worthy winner of this year’s Brownlow Medal, and well done to runner-up Nick Daicos whose score of 38 would have won the award in every other year.
However, with respect to these two outstanding footballers, some of their votes were not in keeping with the assessment of most commentators.
In other matches, players who were judged by the media to be best on the ground were not rewarded with votes. In particular, Marcus Bontempelli seemed to be overlooked.
The ineligibility of Isaac Heaney for a minor infringement was also wrong. When the Brownlow was introduced in 1924, football was a brutal game with a lot of thuggery and foul play leading to the medal being designated for “fairest and best”. Such bad behaviour has largely been removed from the game, and the winner should now be for the best player in the competition.
Umpiring an AFL game seems to be very stressful, especially with this year’s extraordinary number of close matches and changing rule interpretations. Having to determine votes for “Charlie” adds to the umpires’ workload.
It is time for the AFL to make changes by having the votes cast by independent assessors, rewarding the best player, and to remove any contentious interpretation of the results, banning betting.
James Young, Mount Eliza
Blast from the past
Nick Daicos, with 38 votes, in any other year would have won a Brownlow Medal. However, Patrick Cripps got 45 votes, which makes 1.95 votes per match.
Only Graeme Teasedale has achieved more, and that was under a different counting system and in a brown velour jacket.
Greg Tuck, Warragul
Sacre bleu
Your correspondent on footy club songs, R. Doherty (Letters, 24/9), left out the Brisbane Lions.
That club uses the tune of the French national anthem, which is an absolute disgrace and should never have been allowed.
Geoff Schmidt, Richmond
Footy songs uplifting
Re footy club songs (Letters, 24/9): I beg to differ. In this day of disasters, wars and tragedies, it is wonderful to hear (and join in) the footy players singing their club anthems with gusto and joy. Some of the music is emotional (The Marseillaise), some stirring (Song of the Volga Boatmen), but to me they are all fun and uplifting. We need to relax and enjoy them in their kitchiness and fun.
Margaret Collings, Anglesea
Weed out ‘Garden City’
There’s no idea so great, it can’t be reduced to a bland catchphrase. Nick Reece’s “Garden City” initiative (“Wastelands to become parks under $40m plan to give the city a change of scenery”, 22/9) to vivify and green unloved spaces around the City of Melbourne has validity – at least in theory.
The use of the term, “garden city”, is however problematic. A “garden city” is more than it superficially implies.
Ebenezer Howard created the “garden city” concept at the turn of the last century to foster entirely new cities which blended the best elements of the city and country. These would render extant cities – like Howard’s own polluted, degraded London – irrelevant. More importantly for Howard, it would allow a renegotiation of land tenure: the “garden city” had no need for landlords, and the accumulation of unearned profits from land ownership would be a thing of the past.
A century ago, the civic authorities who named Garden City, at Port Melbourne, misunderstood the meaning of Howard’s garden city; the many people who conflate garden cities and garden suburbs also misunderstand it.
Reece is taking the misunderstanding to the next level. Now, a “garden city” can be achieved by digging up some asphalt. Next phase: strategic terrariums, stray feet optional.
David Nichols, professor in urban planning, University of Melbourne
Oceans of discontent
Peter Hartcher (“No room for misunderstanding”, 24/9) suggests that China’s reaction to the presence of ships, including ours in waters labelled international, should be rebutted.
The presence of a Russian submarine in such waters off the coast of Cuba in 1962 brought the world the nearest we have come to World War III, and was prevented only by Russia withdrawing the submarine.
Why should our navy have an exemption based on a convenient interpretation of what we choose to label as international “law”?
Tony Haydon, Springvale
Concerns a smokescreen
This ridiculous ban on the software used in Chinese electric cars has nothing to do with security (“Eyes on US ban of Chinese car software”, 24/9). It is all to do with protecting the US fossil-fuel car companies from competition.
Apart from Tesla, the established US manufacturers have done everything to delay the uptake of EVs. Climate action is not on their radar.
This ban has all the hallmarks of the car industry and oil lobbies taking advantage of the election distortions. It is just dressed up as “security”.
I hope we are a bit more sensible.
Rod Cripps, Parkdale
Tax on paving paradise
Perhaps there should be a savage “greening tax” for those who have more than two cars a household to minimise the need to concrete over nature strips or park on them in narrow streets (“Staying on straight and narrow not so fine”, 24/9). And yes, it also shows the need for better public transport to minimise reliance on those pesky cars.
Peta Colebatch, Hawthorn
Where’s the alternative?
It is unsurprising that Labor has governed in Victoria for 21 of the past 25 years. John Pesutto joins a conga line of ineffective Liberal opposition leaders.
Pesutto seems not to understand his role. It is not to engage in an ongoing distracting dispute with Moira Deeming. (“Pesutto claimed Deeming had organised Nazis at rally: Liberal”, 24/9) but to provide Victoria with what the state desperately needs: an honest and viable alternative government.
Dennis Walker, North Melbourne
Liberals in disarray
The state Liberal Party is in complete disarray, divided and fractured as far as its extreme right wing. Has there ever been a defamation trial so fractious and destructive of a political party?
David Baker, Parkdale
Gas footprint overlooked
In outlining his policy, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton claims renewables take up vast swaths of farmland and negatively impact farmers, and gas will be required as an energy source until nuclear comes online (“Coalition pushes gas as nuclear stopgap”, 24/9).
However, Dutton conveniently overlooks the footprint of the onshore gas industry, with the Climate Council finding about 28 per cent of Australia is subject to gas exploration with significant areas of farmland already supporting gas extraction. Nor does Dutton mention the impact of gas pipelines and infrastructure, nor the potential contamination of water sources that farmers rely on. He also overlooks the contribution of gas to global warming. With our experiences of disasters, Dutton seems unable or unwilling to accept that climate change is upon us here and now.
It is time to listen to the scientists, not the lobbyists, otherwise those very farmers who Dutton claims to be protecting will be decimated by more frequent and more severe floods, fires and droughts. If you have dug yourself into a hole, the first step to get out of it is to stop digging or drilling.
Rod Eldridge, Derrinallum
Comedy of errors
Early this year, when the Coalition announced its “nuclear energy policy”, I was surprised that it was reported as news rather than in the entertainment section.
On reflection, I guess the entertainment reporters thought it had no comedic value and as a piece of fiction, the plot was too implausible. Explains why the political reporters were lumbered with it, as someone had to cover it.
However, the “updates” from the Coalition leadership, Peter Dutton and David Littleproud, have provided some humour, arguably even hilarity. Looking forward to the entertainment section reviews. I couldn’t see them giving more than half a star.
Carlo Ursida, Kensington
Demolition a waste
The Andrews/Allan governments deserve compliments (Letters, 24/9) for the long overdue removal of level crossings, but brickbats for the crazy decision to pull down soundly built buildings only 50 years old, while people sleep on the street.
Just as we have renewed the roof, kitchen and bathroom in our century-old house, updating one unit at a time surely makes much more sense.
Loch Wilson, Northcote
AND ANOTHER THING
Security fears
I think our new smart toaster is sending data to Beijing (“Eyes on US ban of Chinese car software”, 24/9).
George Stockman, Berwick
Credit: Matt Golding
The United States is doing everything in its power to stop China’s progress with its electric car technology by using spurious claims to block its EV exports. One can only hope that Australia doesn’t follow suit.
Paul Chivers, Box Hill North
Energy policy
We don’t need heaters. Put on your snow gear and exercise/move around (“Coalition pushes gas as nuclear stopgap”, 24/9).
Rob Gordon, Melbourne
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton claims nuclear power represents the “only chance to reach net zero by 2050”. On the contrary, the obstruction from the opposition represents the main reason for not reaching net zero by 2050.
Robert Campbell, Brighton East
AFL grand final
How good would it have been if it was South Melbourne and Fitzroy playing in the grand final?
Marie Teague, Ocean Grove
Victorian football supporters should not forget that the South Melbourne and Fitzroy jumpers are still proudly worn every Saturday in the VAFA (Victorian Amateur Football Association) competition.
Rod Oaten, North Carlton
Supermarkets
Supermarkets the inflation villains? (“Supermarket giants’ bogus deals hiked inflation: PM”, 24/9) I don’t think, I know. (Apologies to French President Emmanuel Macron.)
Russell Ogden, Inverloch
If Coles and Woolworths are found guilty as charged, can the penalty include banning all those annoying advertisements?
Peter Heffernan, Balaclava
Down, down, stock price is down!
Steve Dixon, North Melbourne
Finally
David Charles (Letters, 24/9) who warns towns will have less visitors if they introduce parking fees, I say: Bring the parking fees on!
Andrea Plantinga, Point Lonsdale
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To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@theage.com.au. Please include your home address and telephone number below your letter. No attachments. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published.