The Australian Food Network
Toggle User Menu Display

Inquiry into Food Security in Victoria

Headlines

The three biggest wins of the report are: 

  • A recommendation to legislate a right to food
  • The adoption of a systems approach to food security
  • Recommendations to resource local governments to facilitate community-level action

The two main concerns are:

  • The strong recommendations are undermined by a lack of specific proposals for adequate funding
  • The report has dodged any mention of the need for substantive action on the supermarket duopoly

MEDIA RELEASE - 14TH NOVEMBER 2024

A major step towards dignified food security for all, but more needs to be done

Food systems network encouraged by Victorian parliamentary food security report, though “opportunities have been missed”.

Yesterday, the the Legal and Social Issues Committee (LSC) of the Victorian Legislative Council released Food Security in Victoria - a report exploring the drivers, impacts and solutions for food security.

Legislating a right to food, adopting a systems approach to food security and empowering community-level action are the three highlights of the Food Security in Victoria report (released today), according to Sustain: the Australian Food Network.

But these strong recommendations are undermined by a lack of serious funding and ‘dodging’ the need for substantive action on the supermarket duopoly, says the food system network.

The report by the Legal and Social Issues Committee (LSC) of the Victorian Legislative Council summarises a 6-month inquiry process that sought to understand the drivers, impacts and solutions for food security in Victoria.

Many positive steps forward

“Taken together, the report’s 25 recommendations lay out a roadmap that, if fully adopted, implemented and properly resourced by the Victorian government, will make a massive difference to the lives of millions of Victorians enduring the hardship and indignity of food poverty and insecurity”, Sustain’s Executive Director, Dr Nick Rose, said.

“We particularly welcome the Committee’s support for legislating the right to food via an amendment to the 2006 Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. This will ensure that we are meeting our obligations under international law. It will also provide a strong foundation to tackle the root causes of food poverty and food insecurity”, Dr Rose said.

“We also welcome the Committee’s strong support for the development of a whole-of-system, whole-of-government and whole-of-state Victorian Food Security Strategy, together with the appointment of a Minister for Food and a Victorian Food Security Committee. We and many others have been calling for such steps for many years. They will provide the policy architecture and governance framework to work towards dignified food security for all Victorians”, Dr Rose added.

“We are also pleased to see that the Committee adopted our proposal for all local governments in Victoria to be empowered, with appropriate financial resources, to lead the participatory development of community food systems and food security strategies. Our work with several Victorian local governments over many years demonstrates their willingness and capacity to work with communities to address food security at the local level, but currently they lack the necessary resources to do so adequately”, Dr Rose said.

Gaps and omissions
While we are very encouraged by the report’s findings and recommendations, there are some notable gaps and omissions. For example, while the report makes many calls for greater resourcing (e.g. for recurrent funding for food relief agencies, for food hubs and for a major expansion of the trial school meal program), there is no mention of how such measures can be financed.

In Sustain’s reply to a Question on Notice about this issue, we suggested that a Victorian Food Security Fund of $250 mn per annum could be created through a combination of hypothecated land tax (tackling the anti-competitive land-banking practices of the supermarket duopoly) as well as a modest expansion of the current Payroll Tax Surcharge on big business (i.e. those with an annual payroll of over $100 mn). Proper resourcing is essential to ensure that the bold reform agenda mapped out in the Committee’s report can be fully implemented.

Sustain also observes that the Committee ‘dodged’ the politically sensitive questions regarding the role of the supermarket duopoly in the prices that Victorians pay for food. While the Committee noted the real anger and frustration felt by many individuals making submissions, and that this anger had prompted several inquiries into supermarket pricing and other practices at the Federal level, the majority shied away from recommending that any substantive action be taken by the Victorian government.

Sustain and others noted that the Victorian government has the power to designate food and grocery retail as an ‘essential service’ and accordingly empower the Essential Services Commission to monitor and report on prices, as well as put price caps on the most essential items. The Committee refused to recommend any such steps, simply stating (Finding 27) that ‘State governments are limited in what they can do to lower the cost of food, as the primary responsibility rests with the Commonwealth’.

“While we regard these omissions as ‘missed opportunities’, they do not significantly detract from what is otherwise an excellent and very substantial report. We now look forward to the release of the report on Securing Victoria’s Food Supply, by the Environment and Planning Committee (Victorian Legislative Assembly), which is expected before Christmas”, Dr Rose said.

Ends

For inquiries / comment:

Dr Nick Rose, Executive Director: M: 0414 497 819

Background

On Thursday 14th November 2024, the Legal and Social Issues Committee (Victorian Legislative Council) released its report following its 6-month inquiry into the “impacts and drivers of, and solutions for, food security in Victoria”. The Report’s 156 pages included 33 findings and 25 recommendations. 177 organisations and individuals made submissions to the Inquiry, and 43 individuals representing 25 institutions and organisations gave oral evidence at public hearings on 21 and 22 August 2024.