Andrew Leigh

As the Shadow Minister for Competition I issued a short media statement today acknowledging the work done by my Labor colleagues to bring supermarkets and suppliers together to agree on a voluntary Food and Grocery Prescribed Industry Code of Conduct.

MEDIA STATEMENT



NEW FOOD AND GROCERY CODE



The Federal Opposition welcomes the work done to get key players to agree on a voluntary food and grocery code, announced today.

This process began under Labor, with considerable consultation with the sector taking place under Labor Ministers including David Bradbury, Joe Ludwig and Joel Fitzgibbon.

We are hopeful this will provide a structure for retailers and suppliers to conduct their negotiations from a position of trust.

The Opposition will monitor developments closely to see how the code works in practice, its effect on small businesses in the supply chain and what impact it has on prices at the checkout.

Thanks to Labor’s competition reforms, many supermarket prices have fallen, helping households with their cost of living. Labor will continue to closely monitor competition issues to ensure any changes by the Government do not come at a cost to consumers.

ENDS