Mr ADAMS —My interest today is drawn to the current inquiry being undertaken by the Joint Select Committee on the Retailing Sector. I have been hearing a lot about how retailers operate in Australia and have come to the conclusion that we have a very different and difficult problem here than is experienced by any other country which is similar to ours. We are a huge island continent with very few people. There is only so much room for so much trade, and the main premises of healthy competition are missing. This is particularly true of rural and isolated areas where the population is spread even more thinly and there is little ability to build economies of scale easily.

The groupings of supermarket chains tend to concentrate their efforts in competing for their market share where the local population is over 5,000. According to the Franklins chain, this is the size below which the local population cannot fall if they are to be able to afford to establish one of their stores.

In my area of Tasmania, I do not have a major town in my electorate with a population of 5,000. The biggest has a population of about 3,000, and the smallest are settlements of 10 or 20. Some of these settlements are more than an hour's drive from major towns and most of the time they rely on the local store in the smaller centres for their purchases.

From my activities with opposition committees, and as a member of the Standing Committee on Primary Industries and Regional Services, I know that there are many similar situations all over Australia. Customers in these isolated areas do not have the same opportunities to save money by shopping in stores that are able to exceed the critical mass for bulk buying of goods at the lowest prices, as laid down by wholesalers' requirements. However, despite this, stores in rural and remote areas do a good job in providing a service.

I believe that the present inquiry is too narrow and that it does not cover the many issues which affect retailers who are trying to compete under the terms of the national competition policy but who are unable to do so because such an uneven market situation exists in Australia. I believe there is a need for a complete review of the competition policy and the deregulation of the market so that some adjustment can be made for our town and country areas. I believe that a cap should be placed on the share of the market by Australia's three supermarket chains.

We also need to find ways to help small business learn about their rights and responsibilities when dealing with competition. That means more access by small business to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and more funds to help rural and regional communities. I believe this would be one way to even up the playing field a little.