Economic Policy

Cheaper Groceries for Tasmania

Tasmanians are getting ripped off at the checkout. We’re drawing the short straw because we don’t have enough choice when it comes to supermarkets.

Woolworths and Coles dominate in Tasmania. It means they can set their prices high, promote dodgy sales that aren’t really sales, and know that we’ll still shop there because we don’t have any other choice.

It doesn’t matter whether it’s Costco, ALDI or another store – more competition means lower prices. The evidence is clear: if we want cheaper grocery prices, we need more supermarket competitors to come to Tassie.

Costco in Tasmania

In early February 2026, Costco announced its plan to come to Tasmania, with a new store to open in Hobart. This is great news for Tasmanians – increasing competition for Coles and Woolies and bringing down our grocery prices.

If Costco can come to Tasmania, it shows that big retailers can (and want to) do business in Tasmania. With more competition and the tightening of Coles and Woolies’ stronghold on the sector, now is the time for other competitors to enter the market.

ALDI in Tasmania

This is exactly why Tammy has been pushing for ALDI to come to Tasmania. When ALDI comes to a regional town, the prices at Woolworths and Coles go down. A 2024 CHOICE report comparing the price of essential groceries from Woolies, Coles and Aldi said that Tasmania is paying more for groceries because we don’t have ALDI.

You can join Tammy’s campaign to bring ALDI to Tasmania here.¹

Reduce Shipping Costs across the Bass Strait

The Tasmanian Freight Equalisation Scheme (TFES) is a Federal government scheme that’s supposed to make sure Tassie businesses aren’t disadvantaged because of the cost of getting their product across the Bass Strait.

Everyone in Tassie is affected by TFES. High freight costs are adding to people’s grocery bills at the checkout.

But the scheme hasn’t kept up with rising costs. That’s why Tammy set up and led a Senate Committee to take a look at the scheme.

Tammy’s inquiry found that TFES is a broken system failing Tassie businesses. It’s sending them backwards.

The committee report made five recommendations on how the scheme can be fixed – including a total review of the scheme, changes to make claims easier through Services Australia and an ACCC review of competition in Bass Strait.

Tammy also made additional comments with much stronger recommendations on how the scheme can be fixed.

Immediate changes to TFES that Tammy would like to see include:

Dedicated frontline staff located in Tasmania to assist local businesses;
Reforming the scheme to sit under one department within the Commonwealth Government, not two;
Including air freight in TFES; and
Changing the way payments are distributed.

Now that an independent TFES Review is underway, Tammy is working with the reviewers to make sure they are consulting properly and actually looking at how to make the system better for Tassie.

Last update: February 9, 2026

PLEASE NOTE

Issues statements represent a sincere and genuinely-held position of Senator Tammy Tyrrell at the time of their publication. It is based on all information of which she has been made aware prior to publication. Like all people, should new information become available, Senator Tyrrell is capable of revising her position.

Anybody who would claim that their views are infallible, and that no new information could exist that would cause them to change their mind, is either a megalomaniac, an ideologue, or a narcissist. Tammy is none of those things.

Cheaper Groceries for Tasmania