The Australian Greens have proposed a $25.1 billion plan to nationalise more than 200 Coles and Woolworths supermarkets and establish hundreds of government-run grocery stores across the country. The initiative, led by former Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather, aims to create a publicly owned retail network called Fair Go Grocers, which would operate alongside existing commercial supermarkets, targeting about 20% of the market share.

The proposal draws inspiration from a similar initiative by New York Mayor Zochran Mamdani, who plans to open five city-owned grocery stores across the boroughs of New York by 2029. Chandler-Mather’s plan includes using new forced divestiture laws to acquire major supermarket sites and three distribution centres, supplemented by the construction of 424 additional supermarkets and 10 new distribution centres funded by the federal government.

Fair Go Grocers would operate on a non-profit basis and offer significant discounts on essential food items, including fresh produce, bread, milk, and meat. Chandler-Mather estimates that consumers could save up to 22% on grocery bills, equivalent to about $60 per week for a typical four-person household. A statutory authority, comprising experts in supermarket operations, nutrition, food science, and agriculture, would be established to set monthly retail prices and minimum wholesale rates to ensure affordability and sustainable supply.

The federal government would cover the capital costs involved in land acquisition, construction, and buying out supermarkets, prioritising locations with the greatest need. Chandler-Mather contends that after an initial five-year investment phase, the stores would become financially self-sufficient and require no further taxpayer funding. He highlighted the urgency of the plan by citing the widespread impact of rising food prices, saying that many families are cutting back on essentials and that public ownership of food supply is as vital as existing publicly funded services like healthcare and education.

The proposal has received backing from the newly elected Greens leader David Shoebridge, who emphasised the policy’s popularity and relevance. Shoebridge framed it as a necessary response to the financial pressure faced by consumers amid rising supermarket prices, which he characterised as benefiting a small corporate elite at the expense of ordinary Australians.

A poll commissioned by the Greens Institute showed broad public support for the concept of publicly owned supermarkets, with 84% of respondents expressing varying degrees of approval. Support was particularly strong among younger voters aged 25-34, Greens supporters, and women.

The plan comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Coles and Woolworths, which have faced legal challenges from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) over misleading discount claims. A recent report also found the two chains among the most profitable grocers worldwide. Critics argue that recent government efforts to regulate supermarket pricing, including new legislation aimed at preventing excessive markups, have not sufficiently lowered consumer costs.

Internationally, similar public grocery store proposals have faced opposition, with a New York City business group recently suing to block the implementation of Mamdani’s plan, arguing it would undermine small local grocers. Meanwhile, the New Zealand Greens have put forward a comparable model to nationalise 120 supermarkets under a publicly owned chain, KiwiMark.

The Australian Greens’ proposal signals a significant policy push to challenge the current supermarket duopoly and address concerns about food affordability, with implications for government intervention in essential retail services.