Business baulks at Peter Dutton boycott call on Woolworths

Murray Watt accuses Peter Dutton of putting the jobs of more than 200,000 workers at risk as Aldi also stops stocking shelves with Australia Day merchandise.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says ‘I don’t want to go into Woolworths and be told how I need to vote, how I feel about Australia Day’. Picture: Richard Dobson

The federal government has blasted Peter Dutton over his call to boycott supermarkets and accused him of starting a “culture war” where hundreds of thousands of jobs could be at risk.

The Opposition leader sparked a fierce battle by calling on Australians to boycott Woolworths over their decision to stop stocking Australia Day products.

It came as the nation’s favourite supermarket, Aldi, also announced it would not sell Australia Day merchandise ahead of the public holiday later this month.

“There are no Australia themed Special Buys in the works,” Aldi said in a statement. “Late January Special Buys will include items such as fitness trackers, slow juicers, anti-snore pillows, cordless vacuums, and automatic pool cleaners.”

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt accused Mr Dutton of putting the jobs of more than 200,000 workers “at risk” with his boycott call on Woolworths.

“We’ve got Peter Dutton trying to start another culture war about the kind of thongs and flags supermarkets sell, I just think it shows he’s really out of touch with what Australians really care about and that’s the prices at the checkout,” Murray Watt told ABC.

Minister Watt said Mr Dutton was “over-reaching” and accused him of trying to score political points.

“We’ve seen this morning that Aldi have now said that they’re going to be doing the same, is he (Dutton) going to call on Auistralians to boycott Aldi now with more jobs at risk,” he asked.

“If you want to be the Prime Minister you got to be someone who can unite the country rather than always shout at Australians, be divisive, be negative and never put up any solutions.”

Battle with business

Mr Dutton also sparked a battle with business by calling on Australians to boycott Woolworths, declaring that the move was “against the national interest”.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black said the Opposition Leader’s call to boycott the supermarket giant was unjustified.

“Businesses shouldn’t be boycotted because they make commercial decisions based on demand for products from their customers,” Mr Black said.

The Woolworths Group, which includes Big W, announced it would not stock Australia Day merchandise due to a “gradual decline in demand” and the “broader discussion” about what January 26 meant to different parts of the community.

Woolworths said that while Australian flags were sold year-round, it would not add any ­additional themed merchandise ahead of Australia Day.

With the Coalition turning up the heat on the social campaigns of big business, Mr Dutton described the Woolworths move as “an outrage” and accused the supermarket giant of trying to influence how customers felt about Australia Day.

“It’s up to customers whether they want to go in and buy the product or not. If they don’t want to celebrate Australia Day, that’s a decision for them,” Mr Dutton told 2GB. “For Woolworths to start taking political positions to oppose Australia Day is against the national interest, the national spirit.”

In an extraordinary intervention, he called on Australians to stop shopping at Woolworths until the move was reversed.

“I think people should boycott Woolworths.

“I would advise very strongly to take your business elsewhere, to go to IGA or Coles or Aldi,” he said. “Until we get common sense out of a company like Woolworths, I don’t think they should be supported by the public.”

Despite Mr Dutton suggesting customers switch their business, Aldi has reportedly also decided against stocking Australia Day merchandise.

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt accused Mr Dutton of putting “the jobs of more than 200,000 workers at risk” with his boycott call.

“Our government is focused on the war on inflation. Peter Dutton is always focused on a culture war,” he said.

“Our government is focused on the prices supermarkets charge. Peter Dutton is focused on the kind of things that supermarkets sell.”

Council of Small Business Organisations Australia chief executive Luke Achterstraat declared big business were not affording Australians “proper choice and alternatives”.

“The controversy is a timely reminder of the influence that large supermarkets have, whereby withholding products affects the choice available to consumers,” he said.

“It is also a reminder that independent and smaller grocers play a critical role to support local communities as they strive to offer proper choice and alternatives.”

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson joined Mr Dutton in his attack on Woolworths and other big businesses, which she said were “out of touch”.

She claimed she had spoken to Bunnings staff this week who told her they had been instructed not to wear items associated with Australia Day because it might offend some customers.

Bunnings director of store operations Ben Camire said: “Our store teams are free to mark Australia Day in a way that’s right for them and their local communities.

“In the past, some of our stores have chosen to display the Australian flag alongside the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander flags, and others have run team and customer activities,” Mr Camire said.

Mr Dutton said the decision to take “a political position” on issues such as the Indigenous voice to parliament or Australia Day was not appropriate and “embarrassed employees”.

“Brad Banducci … was very forward-leaning, as they say, when it came to the voice – and remember, Big W stores were broadcasting not just a Welcome to Country when the store opened, but also preaching that you should vote for the voice,” he said. “Now it seems that Brad Banducci is following in the CEO mould of Alan Joyce and doubling down and deciding that they’re not going to stock these materials to celebrate our national day.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his focus was on “making sure that Woolies do the right thing by their customers at the checkout”. But he defended Australia Day being held on January 26.

“It is a day in which we can give respect to First Nations people. We acknowledge that it’s a difficult day for them, but it’s also a day in which we can reflect on what it means to be Australian and how we can make the greatest country on Earth even better in the future,” he told FOXFM.

Labor is ratcheting up pressure on supermarkets to pass on savings, launching a review into the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct to be conducted by former Labor minister Craig Emerson.

“We know that at a time when people are doing it tough, the big supermarket chains have been making record profits and we know that there’s something out of sync there,” Mr Albanese said.