The supermarket majors’ market concentration, now 65 per cent, and the problems that accompany it have been a concern of The Movement for decades.
What the ABC has been reporting on the duopoly is disappointing but not surprising.
It’s hard not to think something is up when you see prices rising while farmers complain about new difficulties in making a living. However, as a long-time News Weekly reader wrote to me recently, the gross profits of Qantas, some energy retailers and the big four banks are far more concerning when it comes to possible price gouging.
Of course, Labor and the Coalition’s pursuit of very expensive renewable energy must take some blame for the recent inflation. I noticed recently that my household’s summer electricity consumption was exactly the same as the year before, however the costs were up 35 per cent.
Conventional economics emphasises the value of market economies (vigorous competition) in ensuring efficiency and avenues of innovation by allowing for choice and reducing barriers to entry. However, markets can be distorted by all sorts of things – such as those reported by the ABC. These have flow-on effects throughout the economy and society at large.
Pragmatic
It was B.A. Santamaria’s 26th anniversary on Sunday February 25. There is a caricature about Santamaria that he was some sort of neo-feudal corporatist who wanted to stifle innovation and suffocate freedom under protectionist policies and price controls. I’m sure you’re familiar with it – and if you’re not, it’s the most common critique that comes from his “friends”.
It is true that Santamaria – and The Movement as a whole – support prioritising Aussie industry over foreign imports, and support regulation within the domestic economy to ensure fair pricing. This is not because of ideology but cold, hard practicality. There is no nation on earth that does not protect its own industry for its own benefits.
Our markets are not deregulated – just aspects of them are. Governments still have enough control to warp markets to remove many of the supposed benefits of deregulation.
G.K. Chesterton was amused that despite the enormous evidence for the doctrine of original sin, some doubted it. Similarly, I’m surprised some doubt the need for regulation. The reality of the Australian experience is that monopolies and duopolies can and do gain outsized influence and use that influence to their own advantage.
Collaboration
We conduct our entire lives surrounded by regulations. Some ideologues wish for a deregulated utopia, but they are the fantasists, not us. We want sensible regulation to maximise freedom and ensure Australian economic growth and national security. We’ve been writing on this for years.
Regulations need to change with the times and the technologies. They’re not “set and forget” – they require constant adjustment. Democracies adjust their regulations through a constant back and forth between everyone.
This is why we’re working on creating more forums for conversation and more avenues to discuss different approaches to the problems we face.
Please join us to help make this happen.
