Respondents: Premier Peter Malinauskas and
Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia.
The [Naracoorte Community] News is introducing a new series called Hard Talk, focusing on in-depth interviews with hard-hitting questions on issues relating to communities like ours.
Through this series, we aim to ask our leaders, bureaucrats, and decision makers to respond to the various issues affecting our community—our businesses, our farmers, our workers, our children, along with our health, education, and industry networks; What is working well and what is not?
Hard Talk is simple. It’s about holding your elected representatives accountable and demanding the change that’s needed. If no change is needed, we can promote that too.
In our first issue, we focus on the rising food prices. We questioned Premier Peter Malinauskas and newly appointed Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia.
An affordable daily diet has edged too far away for many. Food prices have risen sharply since 2021, fueling the cost-of-living pressures and food insecurity.
Many people are finding it hard to buy basic food items as prices on supermarket shelves continue to surge.
Some are barely able to afford a meal for their family, and it’s getting tough out there for many families.
Let’s talk!
Leaders debate food prices
The [Naracoorte Community] News asked:
- First, how much have food prices increased since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, and why?
- How did we get here in terms of the high grocery prices?
- Should the government be blamed for failing to keep food prices under control?
- Are our industries, including supermarkets, price-gouging?
- So, what is the government doing to ease the pressure on our communities and lower food prices?
- Dairy farmers working around the clock seven days a week with soaring input costs for power, fuel, employees, fodder, fertiliser, maintenance, and water receive around 67 cents a litre for milk. That is much less than half the price milk sells for in the supermarket. Who are the main beneficiaries of soaring grocery prices, and would a drop in fuel prices or power prices help reduce grocery prices generally?
Premier, Peter Malinauskas
The world is grappling with the rising cost of living, and clearly Australia and South Australia are not immune.
As a government, we are doing everything we can to soften the pinch on families and those who are struggling the most.
First and foremost, the biggest impost on a household budget is the cost of housing.
For regional economies to thrive and their communities to attract and retain the workforce needed to underpin future growth, more opportunities need to be unlocked for people to be able to live in affordable and fit-for-purpose homes.
We created the Office for Regional Housing to address the unique housing challenges being faced by communities across South Australia.
The office is focussed on identifying opportunities to release land and build more homes in regional communities to drive down house and rental prices – which is an important part of a broader economic policy.
Among other living expenses, an increase in grocery prices has been noticed globally.
The nation’s competition watchdog, the ACCC, has a review underway to examine the pricing practices of supermarkets and the relationship between wholesale, including farmgate, and retail prices.
Work, being led nationally, on revitalisation of National Competition Policy will also inform State and Federal governments on how to structure certain markets to reduce the ability for businesses to abuse market power.
Here in South Australia, we have a strong independent grocery sector, which we see as a vital element of competition.
As a government, we’ve actively supported the independent grocers. We fought against deregulation which would have decimated these businesses.
At a household income level, we are supporting South Australian families, and those who need it most, with direct and sensible cost-of-living measures.
To that end, we have doubled the Cost-of-Living Concession payment for all eligible tenants and Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders.
We are providing an additional Cost-of-Living Concession payment of $243.90 to those who received the payment last year.
We have also doubled the materials and services subsidy for public school students – providing another $200 back into the pockets of families.
The government has also increased support to food relief organisations, like Foodbank, and is boosting financial counselling in areas of need.
The truth is no state politician in our free market can or should set the price of milk or promise to deliver it cheaper.
The general public, quite reasonably, doesn’t expect this of governments – and they appreciate a greater degree of honesty about what we can and can’t do.
What we can do is work to improve our state’s economy to increase people’s capacity to pay and offer sensible cost of living relief where we can, which is what we’re doing.
Opposition Leader, Vincent Tarzia
South Australian families are bearing the brunt of a cost-of-living crisis.
Families in the South East, like all other South Australians are finding it increasingly difficult to put food on their tables.
Here in South Australia, we have some of the highest increases in prices for groceries, electricity and insurances.
When costs of production rise like electricity and insurances, it’s a sad fact that those costs are ultimately passed onto consumers.
Prices continue to rise as state and federal Labor Governments continue to excessively spend. As the RBA has warned interest rates will not come down until Government spending is managed.
Cost of groceries continues to go through the roof and all levers need to be considered to manage this crisis.
The Malinauskas Government gives with one hand and takes with the other. Handouts have been given to some South Australians, whilst the government has increased the cost of SA Water to all households by 3.5 per cent above inflation to cover addition infrastructure.
The SA Liberal Opposition is monitoring the progress Federal and State inquiries that are looking into price-gouging by the supermarkets.
Our farmers need to be paid a fair amount for their produce. This needs to be monitored and assessed both at a state and federal level.
The Liberal Party is focused on supporting our farmers to ensure they are here for future generations.
As the Leader of the Opposition, I have responded to the concerns of South Australian families and have created a Cost-of-Living portfolio and appointed Heidi Girolamo to this very important position.
My team is committed to holding the Malinauskas Government to account for their excessive and reckless spending which is driving rising costs.
This article appeared in the Naracoorte Community News.
