Major supermarkets will be called to front a Queensland parliamentary inquiry into the price of groceries, after Premier Steven Miles held meetings with Coles, Woolworths and Aldi yesterday.
Mr Miles officially announced the inquiry today, saying all the major supermarkets had agreed to participate.
"The supermarkets have also agreed to share more information with us and as much of that information that we can share with Queenslanders, we will," Mr Miles said.
"We'll put that information together in a way that is transparent for Queenslanders so they can get a better sense of why they're paying what they're paying at the supermarket."
Premier Steven Miles met with executives from Coles, Woolworths and Aldi.(
ABC News: Else Kennedy
)
The terms of reference are yet to be finalised and a committee will be formed in the first sitting week of parliament.
A Woolworths spokesperson told the ABC the company acknowledged "almost every part of the household budget" was being stretched at the moment.
"We're acutely aware of the cost of living pressures facing Australians right now," the spokesperson said.
"We welcome the opportunity to explain how we have been working to balance the needs of consumers and suppliers through this inflationary period."
In a statement, Coles said it was "also not immune to the increased cost of doing business".
"Energy prices, the cost of logistics and packaging have all risen. Our suppliers are also challenged with many of the same increases and, rightly so, we have experienced a greater volume of supplier price increase requests which we have to balance," a spokesperson said.
Live Moment
Look back at how ABC readers and other Australians responded to this live moment.
Live moment closed
Mr Miles has also announced that Labor's candidate for Inala will be local woman Margie Nightingale.
"I asked the state secretary to make sure that our candidate was a local, a woman and someone with community experience and Margie is all of those things," he says.
"She's lived in the Inala electorate all of her life, it's where she raised her two daughters.
"She lives in Forest Lake, she's been on the P and C of the Forest Lake State School for 18 years, she lived in housing commission in the electorate with her single mother.
"She was like me the first in her family to go to university, she got first class honours — I didn't get first class honours."
Mr Miles thanked both Annastacia Palaszczuk and her father Henry for their contributions as MPs for Inala.
Ms Nightingale is listed on LinkedIn as a senior policy advisor to the Queensland Treasurer.
This is where we'll leave today's live coverage.
Mr Miles has also confirmed a by-election for the southern Brisbane seat of Inala will be held on March 16, the same day as Queensland's council elections.
Inala was vacated by Mr Miles's predecessor Annastacia Palaszczuk when she formally resigned from the seat on December 31.
Over the weekend, the state opposition criticised the time being taken to announce a date for the by-election.
"Holding it on the same day as the council election isn't just more convenient for those residents, it will save us about $600,000 — that's what the cost of a standalone by-election would be — and it's based on the independent advice of the Queensland Electoral Commission," Mr Miles says.
The Queensland premier says transparency and scrutiny on the cost of supermarket goods and on the prices paid at the farm gate is "a key first step" in addressing how farmers are treated and in delivering cheaper groceries.
"While my 30-minute meeting with [supermarket bosses] was useful I think that kind of detailed scrutiny by the state's parliament is fitting for the kinds of concerns that we've heard from Queensland farmers and Queensland consumers," Mr Miles says.
Wondering what this is? Join us next time we're live and be part of the discussion.
'Growing concern' over price differences
Mr Miles described yesterday's meetings with supermarkets as "productive".
"I spoke to them about the experiences of Queensland farmers and the differences in prices between what they’re getting at the farm gate and what Queensland families are paying at the grocery store," Mr Miles said.
"I look forward to receiving this [information] and we will work with the supermarkets, farmers and growers on solutions that will take pressure off household budgets."
Supermarket prices are rising but farmgate prices have often remained low.(ABC News: Jonathon Daly)
Mr Miles wrote to Coles, Woolworths, IGA and Aldi last week requesting a meeting with their chief executives to discuss his "growing concern about a widening gap between the prices farmers receive for their produce and the prices customers pay at the check-out".
He said yesterday there appeared to be evidence of price-gouging.
"It looks that way to me," Mr Miles said.
"I've heard these stories first-hand from farmers about how these [supermarket] supplier agreements are driving down farmgate prices right when their costs are going up."
By-election on council election day
Meanwhile, the Premier also confirmed a by-election for former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's seat of Inala will be held on March 16, the same day as statewide local government elections.
Mr Miles said the government had received advice from the Electoral Commission of Queensland that holding the Inala by-election on the same day as local government elections would minimise administrative and operational costs.
Ms Palaszczuk finished up as the Inala MP on December 31.
She had held the seat since 2006 and was preceded by her father Henry Palaszczuk, who represented the electorate from 1992, meaning it will be the first time in 31 years a Palaszczuk is not the member for Inala.