Supermarket senate inquiry: David Littleproud calls on Aldi to appear

The Nationals leader is calling on the German supermarket giant, Aldi, to be questioned during the senate inquiry into supermarket prices.

Aldi needs to front up to a senate inquiry into supermarkets, Nationals leader David Littleproud says, reigniting a long-running feud with the German retailer.

For the first time, a select senate inquiry will scrutinise the impact of market concentration on food prices and the pattern of pricing strategies employed by the major supermarkets.

Mr Littleproud has been a leading critic of the supermarket giant since his first stint as federal agriculture minister, often dubbing it “the Big German.”

While Mr Littleproud would have preferred the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to probe supermarket prices rather than a Greens-initiated senate inquiry, he said Aldi should make an appearance.

National Party leader David Littleproud. Picture: Martin Ollman

“The Senate inquiry doesn’t go far enough, which is why (we) are calling for an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission inquiry because it would have the power to compel supermarkets to appear,” he said.

“There should be an ACCC inquiry rather than the senate inquiry, because they have the tools and expertise to properly undertake an inquiry, not a bunch of politicians.

“The Nationals are concerned about the price of groceries across the board, not just dairy, but also meat prices, as well as fruit and vegetable prices.”

Earlier this month, the Tasmanian senator who spearheaded the call for the inquiry, Nick McKim, told The Weekly Times that farmer feedback would give a pertinent perspective to the parliamentary probe.

Both Coles chief executive Leah Weckert and Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci confirmed they would front the inquiry.

An Aldi spokeswoman said: “If required, we will participate in the inquiry,” although a specific representative of the supermarket was not named.