Former Labor minister Craig Emerson has been appointed the head of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct review.
The review, announced in October 2023, will examine how major supermarkets Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, and Metcash (which operates IGA) deals with its customers and suppliers.
Mr Emerson worked in several ministerial portfolios during the Rudd and Gillard governments and will lead the review which comes after major supermarkets were accused of price gouging.
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Just Tuesday, National leader David Littleproud criticised the federal government for not appointing a head if the review 100 days on from when it was announced.
However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr Emerson had been appointed prior to the Christmas break, but the decision had not been announced.
Mr Albanese said the review would be one of the ways his government was working on lowering the cost of supermarket goods and if prices were being lowered by farmers, then these prices should be passed on to consumers.
The review will examine if certain parts of the code should become mandatory.
“We know that when we’ve seen a reduction in the cost to supermarkets, that hasn’t been passed on in an appropriate way to consumers, and we want to make sure that happens,” Mr Albanese said on ABC TV on Wednesday.
“We have been clear — if the price for meat and fruit and vegetables is going down at the farm gate then families should be seeing cheaper prices on supermarket shelves too,” Mr Albanese further said in a statement.
“Supermarkets have a duty to make sure they’re providing affordable options for all Australians, especially when they’re making savings on their own costs.