Australians have been taken for a ride by the major supermarkets and, frankly, it’s no wonder they are among Australia’s least trusted companies. Coles and Woolworths, who collectively control two-thirds of the grocery sector, are among the most profitable supermarkets in the world. While families have been struggling to balance the household budget, both Coles and Woolies made more than $1 billion in after-tax profits in the previous financial year. Just swallow that fact. To rub salt into the wound, it seems like not a day passes without another story in the media about fake discounts, price gouging or mistreatment of small-scale suppliers and farmers.

For example, in my electorate of Indi in north-east Victoria, fruitgrowers are a key part of the local agricultural sector. However, Fruit Growers Victoria have told government inquiries of the significant market failure in the provision of fresh fruit to the Australian retail sector. They blame this, in large part, on the enormous power imbalance of a sector dominated by guess who? Coles and Woolworths, the duopoly. They worry for the future of Australian grown fruit. Sadly, this is a common view across most agricultural sectors in this country.

For most Australians, the equation is simple. Farmers are getting paid less and consumers are paying more. It’s not hard to understand that that’s not right. It’s why Australians have had enough of the big supermarket duopoly. That’s why I’ve supported the actions to date to rein in the supermarkets, as well as other big businesses treating regular Australians with contempt. I support inquiries into supermarket price gouging and I commend efforts to crack down on dodgy specials and fake discounts.

I recognise the vital role of the competition regulator in holding Coles and Woolworths accountable and protecting Australian consumers. I also support plans to make the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct mandatory. I want to see stronger protections, including whistleblower protections, for suppliers who call out the big supermarkets on their bad behaviour. I also support calls for an economy-wide divestiture power that would give the competition regulator the power to break up big businesses when it can prove regular Australians are getting a dud deal. Corporate interest should never be prioritised over consumer interest in a sector as important as fundamental food and groceries.

However, the major parties are not blameless here. To me, their bold words ring hollow and come far too late. We only find ourselves in this situation because neither the Labor Party nor the Liberal Party and National Party have been brave enough to take on the supermarket duopoly. One duopoly in this country seems to be protecting another. For decades, they’ve sat by and allowed the major supermarkets to accumulate power and influence and, now, in many regional communities, a Woolies or a Coles is the only game in town.

What I also can’t stand is that the supermarket duopoly use their power and influence to squeeze Aussie farmers and agricultural communities. For most primary producers, whether in my electorate of Indi or right across regional Australia, it’s getting harder and harder to do business without being dependent on and beholden to the market dominance of the major supermarkets. Yet for years, as political tides have ebbed and flowed, little has been done to fundamentally reform the supermarket sector. That we find ourselves in the situation we’re in today is not really a surprise to those who have been watching. It was only once the conduct of the supermarkets became so egregious and so obvious that it could no longer be ignored that both major parties decided to get tough on the supermarkets. So we cannot let this moment go to waste and we must reform the grocery sector to ensure consumers and farmers are put before corporate profits.

As a regional independent, I will always put the interests of my community first, whether that be a family trying to put affordable food on the table or the multigenerational farming family underpinning the food security of our nation. I will always push for a fairer food system in this country where farmers and all our incredible primary producers are rewarded for their hard work, where agricultural communities are supported, not undermined. I’ve always pushed for a grocery sector where households—all households—can put food on the table that is healthy and affordable.