Tasmania’s independent supermarkets are warning against taxpayer-funded subsidies to attract German retail giant Aldi to the island state, arguing local operators already provide genuine competition to major chains.
The pushback follows the Greens’ recent $30 million federal proposal aimed at bringing Aldi to Tasmania, which includes up to $28 million in direct support for new retailers and a $2 million supermarket competition review.
Tasmanian Independent Retailers (TIR), representing 86 IGA supermarkets across the state, says the plan overlooks existing local businesses that have served communities for decades.
“Independent IGA operators are already delivering genuine competition to the big two,” said TIR Chief Executive Officer Drew Freeman.
“We’re proud to offer real choice, fair prices, and personalised service in communities right across Tasmania – from cities to the most remote towns.”
The organisation said IGA Tasmania employs over 2,500 locals and maintains deep community connections through support for local producers, sporting groups and charities.
Freeman warned that subsidising multinational competitors could undermine local businesses and jobs, particularly in remote areas where IGA stores are often the only full-service supermarkets.
“Aldi’s entry into Tasmania may appear to offer a quick fix, but the risk is that it drives out the very businesses that have supported Tasmanian communities for decades,” he said.
“That’s not competition – that’s replacement.”
Instead of subsidising foreign retailers, TIR is calling on governments to invest in existing businesses by addressing rising operational costs including freight, insurance, energy and compliance burdens.
Independent Senator for Tasmania Tammy Tyrrell earlier this year launched a petition to bring ALDI to the state.
“Last year, report after report, inquiry after inquiry said the same thing. When ALDI comes to a regional town, prices at Coles and Woolies go down,” she said in January.
“The evidence shows Tassie is paying through the nose for groceries because we’ve been put in the too hard basket.”
In April last year, ALDI CEO Anna McGrath told a supermarket inquiry in Canberra that the company had “no current plan” to bring its efficiency-based business to Tasmania.
“Tasmania, far north Queensland, with the distance and the complexities of the supply chain, it just makes it less easy,” she said.
“That’s not to say that we don’t continuously review where we may expand in the future.”
