Zack Polanski pushes 7p vegetables critique in Australian Cost Of Living Crisis
Zack Polanski used a Bakers’ Union conference speech to argue that supermarket goods should cost more, saying 7p vegetables are not a sign of a healthy system during the australian cost of living crisis. The Green leader tied the price of food to pay and working conditions, pressing for more supermarket regulation.
Zack Polanski at Bakers’ Union
Polanski said a friend was excited about buying vegetables for 7p in one supermarket, then rejected that price as normal. "I was thinking of a friend of mine the other day – who I’m not judging for this, I understand, but they were really excited that they were buying vegetables for 7p in one of the supermarkets."
He followed that with a sharper warning: "That is not a sign of a healthy system … someone is being exploited somewhere and if you are paying 7p for vegetables then something is not right."
7p Vegetables And Food Prices
Polanski said the issue sits inside a wider cost-of-living crisis, and he linked lower food prices to pressure on workers. "Yes, there’s a cost-of-living crisis. Yes, governments and local councils need to do everything they can to keep food prices down and make sure that people can afford to eat and, in the same breath, we need to make sure that we’re paying our workers properly and that people have proper dignity and working conditions."
He also called for more regulation of supermarkets and said the current setup "cannot go on as it is." That leaves the debate centered on how low food prices should be allowed to go when they depend on wages and conditions elsewhere in the supply chain.
Supermarket Regulation Debate
Polanski’s remarks point to a direct trade-off in his speech: keep food affordable, but not at the cost of worker pay and dignity. For shoppers, the practical question is not the 7p label alone, but whether that price sits inside a system he says needs tighter rules.
His speech did not set out a timetable or a policy text. It did put supermarkets, councils and governments on notice that the Green leader wants food pricing discussed alongside pay and regulation, not as a separate issue.
