Donna Demaio: Australia Correspondent on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launching legal action against Woolworths and Coles

Australia's consumer watchdog has launched legal action against the Australian arm of Woolworths, and its main rival Coles. 

The ACCC's accusing the supermarket giants of breaching consumer law by misleading consumers, raising prices by 15% at times before dropping the price as part of a promotion. 

The watchdog claims the price of hundreds of products were affected. 

Australia Correspondent Donna Demaio told Ryan Bridge the ACCC is taking both retailers to federal court in separate cases and will be seeking significant penalties.  

She said they’ll also be aiming to impose community service orders on both Woolworths and Coles, which means they’ll have to fund a registered charity to deliver meals to Australians in need. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
And we're going to Donald de Mayo, our Australia correspondent.
Australia's two big supermarkets are being sued by the competition
watchdog there what for.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yes, legal action has been taken against two major supermarkets,
Woolies and Coals. It's alleged there was some illusory discounting
on some common products, actually hundreds of them in fact.
So the allegation is the supermarkets briefly increased prices on
hundreds of products before placing them on discount or on promotion.

(00:32):
So it's been alleged to the shoppers have been misled
on items you know, from chocky biscuits to instant coffee,
yogurt right through to tissues and throat lozenges and pet
food and the list goes on. So the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission says the regulator will seek significant penalties.
It's taken these supermarkets to the Federal Court in separate cases.

(00:55):
I might add, now the major retailer is allegedly profited
from the SA teams of millions of these products that,
as I mentioned, were discounted but allegedly sold under consumer
law breaches. And it looks like that the ATRIPLEC will
also seek to impose community service orders, hopefully on Woollies

(01:17):
and Coals, and what that means is that these supermarkets
will have to fund a registered charity to deliver meals
to Australians in need efforts if the ATRIPLEC is successful
in its legal action.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Tell us about these Indigenous Northern Territory police officers. They've
lodged a complaint about racial discrimination.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yes, I've gone straight to the Human Rights Commission and
the complaint has been lodged against the Northern Territory Government
and the Police Commissioner on behalf of these three serving
Aboriginal police. Now they launched the complaint alleging racial discrimination
over twenty years, allegations of racial realification and derision, and
also an unequal system of pay and promotion. The lawyer

(02:00):
actually says that the Aborigin and op community police officers
have been subject to this racism since their position was
actually created, and it's not a historical complaint by any means,
but still very much of today. The Commissioner says he
can't comment on specifics of the case, but the fourth
is invested in cultural reforms, so let's see what happens there, all.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
Right, Donna, thanks very much for that. Donna de Mayo
are Australia correspondents. For more from News Talks THE'B listen
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