The Greens Institute, the party's thinktank, has proposed a $25.1bn plan to nationalise more than 200 Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and open hundreds of government grocery stores. The proposal, led by former Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather, aims to ease grocery prices for consumers.
Plan details and market share
Under the plan, new forced divestiture laws would be used to take over major supermarket sites and three distribution centres. The government would fund another 424 new supermarkets and 10 distribution centres, giving the new non-profit network about 20% of the market share of commercial operators.
The stores, dubbed Fair Go Grocers, would save consumers as much as 22% on the average shop, or $60 per week for a four-person household, according to Chandler-Mather. Heavy discounts would be applied to essentials including fruit and vegetables, bread, milk and meat.
Governance and funding
A statutory authority would be established to set prices each month, as well as minimum wholesale rates for suppliers. Its members would include experts in supermarket operations, nutrition and food science, and farming.
The federal government would pay for capital costs including land, construction, and acquisition, with stores located in areas of highest need. After an initial $25.1bn price tag over five years, Chandler-Mather says the stores would be self-funded and not require additional taxpayer cash. By comparison, the federal government currently spends about $24bn each year on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Political and public support
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."
"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 is similar to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plan for five city-owned and subsidised grocery stores, one in each borough, opening by 2029. Last month a local business group sued Mamdani, arguing existing small grocery stores would be unable to compete. The New Zealand Greens have a similar plan to nationalise 120 supermarkets and establish a chain called KiwiMark.
YouGov pollsters, commissioned by the Greens Institute, tested public support for the proposal last month. Voters were asked: Would you support or oppose publicly owned supermarkets being tried in Australia? A total of 84% said they strongly supported or somewhat supported the idea, while 16% somewhat or strongly opposed it. Support was strongest among voters aged 25-34 (88%), Greens voters (96%) and women (88%).
Newly elected Greens leader David Shoebridge welcomed the proposal, saying: "A publicly owned supermarket with cheaper food is wildly popular, because it makes people's lives better."
"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."
The 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 they were among the most profitable grocers in the world. The Greens allege Labor's new laws banning supermarkets from excessive pricing are ineffective and have not resulted in lower costs for consumers.
