Our ‘Fair Go Grocers’ plan in the media
Our Green Institute plan for publicly owned supermarkets has made a big impact!
In case you missed it, this month The Green Institute launched our call for a publicly owned line of supermarkets called Fair Go Grocers – to break up the price gouging supermarket duopoly and deliver 30% off of essential groceries, by cutting out the profiteering and wasteful corporate spending of Coles and Woolworths.
As well as being a leading story in ABC News and the Guardian, we also made a big splash on 9 News on TV, news.com.au, the Daily Mail, and other outlets across the country.
You can listen to The Green Institute director Max Chander-Mather’s interviews on Triple J’s Hack, 9 News coverage, or on ABC News, or even see cartoonist First Dog On The Moon’s very funny take (and endorsement!).
We know the idea is winning hearts and minds.
A poll by YouGov (commissioned by the Green Institute) has found that 84% of Australians support public supermarkets being rolled out in Australia. 62% of Australians (including 53% of One Nation voters!) would be more likely to vote for a party that proposed the policy.
Breaking open the debate
For the first time there is a major national debate about publicly owned supermarkets in Australia – all kicked off by the Green Institute. From shock jock right wing radio stations, to the ABC and Guardian and everything in between, the Green Institute set the terms of the debate.
It was fantastic to see Greens MPs across the country supportive of the idea – including Greens Leader David Shoebridge, the Greens economic justice spokesperson Nick McKim, and many others – an encouraging sign that a proposal like this one will get taken up by The Greens federally at the next election.
The Victorian Greens have gone further and announced their own version of this policy, drawing on elements of our research to support opening a trial of 10 publicly owned supermarkets across the country – meaning Victorians will now get to vote for cheaper groceries at their state election this November.
This shows exactly what The Green Institute should be for – developing big ideas, backed by research, that helps push our movement forward, broaden the scope of debate, and turn radical ideas into the new common sense.
The Green Institute has a fraction of the funding of many other think tanks and NGOs you may have heard of – but this policy launch has made clear that our little team can make a big impact!
We’re just getting started. But to continue this campaign and build others like it, we need more ongoing funding – and we rely on support from everyday donors.
If you like this idea, and want to see our work continue, please consider making a donation to support The Green Institute! Even a small monthly donation of as little as $10 a month helps give us the security we need to continue our work building the movement. (Plus – donations to The Green Institute are tax deductible!).
