AU: Labor Party pledges abolition of potato regulator
Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said yesterday that the Potato Marketing Corporation, which controls domestic table potato production and sales in WA, was an antiquated system that restricted competition and consumer choice.
The regulator was set up due to food shortages in the Great Depression and the Second World War. It controls the $60 million industry in the state, licensing growers, overseeing tonnage and varieties that can be produced.
"The time has come to move on from outdated and outmoded and unnecessary bureaucracy," Mr McGowan said.
"It's an anachronism that reduces consumer choice and increases the cost of potatoes for ordinary families."
To back up its price claim, Labor's policy statement pointed to the six quarters to June last year where Perth prices were mostly higher than Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart and consistently higher than Sydney, sometimes by more than $1kg.
It said for an average family eating 2kg of potatoes a week could save about $100 a year based on Sydney prices.
The party also pointed out that of 66 potato varieties grown nationwide, only 13 of them were permitted to be grown in WA.
Myalup potato grower Tony Galati, said the reform was overdue.
"It's about time someone jumped in the arena and could see some common sense," he said.
Vegetables WA chief Jim Turley slammed the policy as "absolutely abominable" and said Mr McGowan showed "total ignorance" of a successful system that ensured quality potatoes all year at reasonable prices for consumers and decent returns for growers. He said the low Eastern States prices were a "one-off" because of oversupply.
Source: au.news.yahoo.com
