5 years ago
Labor should stop defending Coles and Aldi
David Littleproud MP
Coles’ comments that it is waiting for an “industry-wide solution” is yet another cop-out from the arrogant supermarket giant, Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said today.
Coles has just announced a six-month profit of $738 million, and has also said:
“The $1 litre has been an important product for Coles in re-establishing itself as the best value supermarket in Australia and we’re very proud of the fact that we’ve managed to reduce the cost of living for Australians for around about 10 years.”
“Coles is very proud of the fact it started $1 milk in January 2011 which has seen four dairy farms a week disappear since then,” Minister Littleproud said.
“In mid-2010, there were 7511 dairy farms in Australia and today there are 5669. That’s 1842 less dairy farms in 409 weeks.
“In my electorate of Maranoa in Queensland, we’ve gone from having 30 dairy farmers to 15.
“Yet Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon, the wannabe Agriculture Minister has stood up in Parliament today and told me to lay off Coles and Aldi. He says I shouldn’t criticise companies.
“Labor can take a running jump. Someone has to stand up for farmers and Labor certainly won’t.
“So long as Coles and Aldi refuse to treat farmers fairly, I’ll go after them. If Woolworths behave badly, I’ll go after them. Just like I went after the banks until they agreed to let farmers use the money in their Farm Management Deposits to offset their farm loans.
“Now Labor has a hair brained scheme to re-regulate the dairy market, which the National Farmers Federation and Australian Diary Farmers inform us was not run by them.
“The ACCC’s inquiry into milk pricing in April 2018 did not recommend a floor price.
“Australia is a country of 25 million people which grows enough food for 75 million people – we rely on trade.
“Australia’s entire agriculture trade strategy and success is based on the fact we don’t subsidise – we reward efficiency and good performance.
“How would this floor price work? Farmers are paid on the percentage of butterfat in their milk. Would the floor price mean farmers are paid the same regardless of how good their milk is?
“Our trading partners would say a floor price was a subsidy.
“New Zealand, our competitor, does not have a floor price.”
Note: Minister Littleproud has 25 shares in Woolworths which returned $15 last financial year. They are the result of an automatic dividend reinvestment which occurred after he sold the shares – the small dividend from the shares in the previous financial year was automatically invested in new shares.