Australian Greens pitch $25.1bn public-supermarket plan

YouGov poll finds 84% of voters surveyed back the proposal

The Greens Institute released the proposal this week, calling the network “Fair Go Grocers” and pitching it as a public option for food alongside Medicare and public schools. Under the plan, the federal government would use new forced divestiture laws to take over major Coles and Woolworths sites and three distribution centers, then fund 424 additional supermarkets and 10 distribution centers. Together the new network would take roughly 20 percent of the market share of commercial operators.

Chandler-Mather, a former Greens MP who now leads the institute, said the stores would offer heavy discounts on essentials including fruit and vegetables, bread, milk, and meat. A statutory authority would set prices each month and establish minimum wholesale rates for suppliers; its members would include experts in supermarket operations, nutrition and food science, and farming, according to the proposal. Stores would be located in areas of the highest need, with the federal government covering capital costs including land, construction and acquisition.

After an initial $25.1 billion price tag spread over five years, the stores would be self-funded and not require additional taxpayer cash, Chandler-Mather said. By comparison, the federal government currently spends about $24 billion each year on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

In remarks released with the proposal, Chandler-Mather said: “Kids are going to school hungry, families are skipping meals, people are cutting back on essentials, all because Labor has allowed Coles and Woolworths to jack up prices for extra profit, regardless of the human consequences.” He added: “Just like healthcare and education, food is essential to life. And just like Medicare and public schools, it’s time we had a public option for food.”

The proposal echoes Mamdani’s plan for five city-owned and subsidised grocery stores, one in each of New York City’s boroughs, opening by 2029. Last month a local business group sued the Democratic Socialist mayor, arguing existing small grocery stores would be unable to compete. The New Zealand Greens have a separate plan to nationalise 120 supermarkets and establish a publicly owned chain called KiwiMark.

The Greens Institute commissioned YouGov to test public support for the proposal last month, with background on Mamdani’s plan for government-owned stores that cut out profits made by private corporations. Asked whether they would support or oppose publicly owned supermarkets being tried in Australia, 84 percent of those surveyed said they strongly or somewhat supported the idea, while 16 percent somewhat or strongly opposed it. Support was strongest among voters aged 25 to 34 (88 percent), Greens voters (96 percent), and women (88 percent).

Newly elected Greens leader David Shoebridge, under pressure to lift the party’s profile, welcomed the proposal, saying the Greens should focus on improving the material conditions of individuals, the environment and community. “A publicly owned supermarket with cheaper food is wildly popular, because it makes people’s lives better,” he told Guardian Australia. “Of course this is the sort of policy that we should be discussing right now.”

Shoebridge said Mamdani’s message about the government needing to address the needs of citizens was working. “When I talk to people, I hear about the dread they feel heading down the supermarket aisle, the shopping trolley feels like pushing a boulder up to the checkout,” he said. “While 99% of us are paying more for food, and many are making decisions about enough food or some other essentials, the 1% who own Coles and Woolies are laughing.”

Australia’s competition watchdog has brought cases against both Coles and Woolworths over false or misleading representations about in-store discounts, and a report released last year found the two chains were among the most profitable grocers in the world. The Greens have alleged that Labor’s new laws banning supermarkets from excessive pricing are ineffective and have not resulted in lower costs for consumers.