The big two supermarkets have found themselves in a bit of bother with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) taking them to court this week over misleading shoppers about discounts. Share prices for both companies have a taken a big hit in the wake of the announcement.

One Nation supports the move. Coles and Woolworths derive enormous power from their virtual duopoly and it’s important they’re held to account. It’s power they would not have if successive Labor and Coalition governments had bothered to foster real competition in the sector. Such is their market power that decisions made by these companies materially impact the cost of living in Australia every day and can make all the difference to the viability and profitability of their suppliers.

Let’s never forget what these companies did to the Australian dairy industry when they decided to sell milk for only a dollar per litre. Customers certainly got cheaper milk, but many farmers left the industry because they weren’t being paid enough for their milk to stay in business. Australia is now a net dairy importer – we don’t produce enough milk to meet domestic demand. It’s an example of how the market power of the Coles-Woolworths duopoly can have disastrous consequences.

Things haven’t changed for Australian farmers who supply the big two supermarkets. They continue to struggle as price takers, rather than price setters. Sometimes they don’t even get paid enough to cover the costs of picking their crops. They’re at the mercy of these supermarkets which are usually their only buyers, effectively bullied into silence about these unfair practices if they want to keep doing business.

While we’re happy for the spotlight to be on the big supermarkets for dodgy practices, it’s important we don’t let the Albanese Labor government off the hook over Australia’s cost-of-living crisis.

Albanese was quick to seize on the ACCC case to announce his government would introduce a mandatory code of conduct to the sector. He’s also been quick to criticise the Reserve Bank for doing the only thing it can to reign in rampant inflation: keep interest rates high. Albo desperately needs convenient-to-blame villains to deflect scrutiny from his own disastrous, inflation-driving policies. Don’t be fooled: the buck stops with him.