‘We’re up for it’: Anthony Albanese flags more powers for ACCC to stop price-gouging

Anthony Albanese says the government is willing to expand the powers of the ACCC in an effort to rein in price gouging by supermarkets.

Anthony Albanese Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Anthony Albanese says the ­government is willing to expand the powers of the consumer watchdog to rein in price gouging by supermarkets, while also considering other “practical ­options” to urgently bring down grocery bills.

The Prime Minister said if the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) needed “more powers” to bring supermarkets into line, Labor would be open to giving it to them.

“If the ACCC asks for more powers, my government’s up for giving it to them,” he said.

Mr Albanese said there needed to be certainty that if supermarkets were paying less for produce, the prices they charged customers also went down.

“My government is concerned about the price of what consumers pay at Coles and Woolies and other supermarkets,” he said. “We have a practical option of mandating the grocery, the code of conduct, for example. And that’s something that (Craig) ­Emerson will consider.”

Dr Emerson, a former Labor minister, is heading up the six-month review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, which will also consider introducing civil penalties to the code.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is understood to be in talks with the ACCC over what action the watchdog could take should the two major supermarket chains continue charging such high prices, which Coles and Woolworths have claimed is due in large part to inflation.

ACCC chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb is threatening to take legal action against the big supermarkets if they did the wrong thing by customers.

Mr Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns unveiled a $206m package on Tuesday to give more than 30,000 households energy-saving upgrades, with Mr Albanese indicating there would be “further announcements over coming days”.