JOURNALIST: Does this report give weight to calls for divestiture powers?

LEIGH: We don't see other countries engaging in breaking up supermarkets and the Albanese government doesn't see that as being a primary solution in this instance. Divestiture powers exist in some countries, not in others. Australia has it in the energy sector, but not more broadly. But even when they exist, they're very rarely used. In the United States, you've got to go back generations to get to the Bell break-up, the most recently attempted breakup of Microsoft ended up not going ahead. So, there's little point adding a tool to the competition armoury, which isn't going to be used.

JOURNALIST: But the tools so far aren't working. The CHOICE report yesterday showed the prices between Coles and Woollies have hardly changed in the three months, Woollies basket has actually gone up by $4.00, so surely you should be adding more tools to the toolbox.

LEIGH: Well, the point of providing pricing information is to encourage consumers to get the best deal. If I tell you that a car is cheaper at this dealership than this other dealership, you've gotten a benefit from that. Yes, there's a double benefit that comes if we also see price effects at those dealerships. But by informing consumers, we ensure that people save money at the checkout and we're very proud of having done that.

JOURNALIST: Is divestiture completely off the table, given this report has found that Coles and Woollies are an oligopoly?

LEIGH: Look, we don't see the evidence being particularly strong for divestiture having a positive impact on consumers. We do know it would have a chilling effect on investment and potentially that could lead to an adverse impact. When we look around the world, we don't see other countries breaking up their supermarkets. What Labor wants to ensure is that we get better information into the hands of consumers, we hold supermarkets to account, and we encourage greater competition from potential players in Australia and overseas.