House: Legislation To Create A Price Database
The Cost of Living Commission Amendment Act 2020 — which is designed to have certain businesses provide prices so a database can be created showing prices at which essential commodities can be purchased — has passed in the House of Assembly.
The Bill stated, “Whereas it is expedient to amend the Cost of Living Commission Act 1974 to provide that the Minister responsible for consumer affairs is the Minister responsible for the Act and to require business undertakings that sell essential commodities to use electronic means to furnish to the Commission information on the prices of essential commodities they sell, to enable the Commission to efficiently and accurately inform members of the public of current prices of essential commodities sold by the various business undertakings”.
“The Commission shall, for the purpose of efficiently and accurately informing members of the public of current prices of essential commodities, establish a database consisting of the prices at which essential commodities may be purchased at specified business undertakings from time to time.”
The Cost Of Living Commission Amendment Act 2020 follows below [PDF here]:
More wasted money by this Government. It won’t reduce prices but may increase them to allow supermarkets to pay for the bureaucracy. What is the cost to taxpayers for the Commission? Food prices are subject to world supply and demand, the weather and a myriad of other reasons. There is a call for more local produce, but much of it is more expensive than imported, so explain that. Clearly scale of production, but it shows local costs are too high, which is largely labour. Since the Government won’t reduce its expenses why should anyone else?