Coles Faces Shareholder Scrutiny Over Environmental Impact As Chairman Decries Cost-Of-Living Politics

Australian supermarket giant Coles has called out the politicization of the cost of living issue, saying that the government initiating a probe into their business practices was a way to divert attention from the inflation crisis.

During the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday, Chairman James Graham assured shareholders that Coles understood the economic challenges faced by consumers and was committed to rebuilding trust.

"In this context, it has been disappointing to see how cost-of-living issues have been politicized and targeted at supermarket operations," Graham said. "There has been a wider ambition from some behind the inquiries to perhaps provide answers to more difficult questions of inflation. This is not unique to Australia, we are seeing pressures on supermarket costs abroad," News.com reported.

Meanwhile, the shareholders also held the retail giant under the scanner for environmental issues, particularly its handling of salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour and the protection of the Maugean skate fish.

Environmental groups were up in arms against Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's AU$28 million funding announcement to improve water quality in Tasmania's Macquarie Harbour, which they saw as a threat to endangered Maugean skate. With only an estimated 40 to 120 adult Maugean skates left in the world, environmental campaigners were afraid that the rapid escalation of salmon farming will wipe them off the face of the earth.

Despite mounting worries about the predicament of the Maugean skate, Coles was reportedly beating around the bush when it came to announcing the anticipated timeline for the phase-out of salmon farming from the Macquarie Harbour.

Following this, shareholders called for more effective measures, even as the company claimed a 50% decrease in salmon imports from the region since 2014.

Graham, on Tuesday, said, "We continue to update our process and procedures to ensure they remain appropriate and are delivering the right outcomes. The salmon we source from Macquarie Harbour is certified as responsibly sourced by best agriculture practices. It is an important and complex issue that we are closely monitoring."

Coles and rival Woolworth have been plagued by controversy since September when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed a lawsuit against the companies, claiming they deceived consumers by boosting prices on hundreds of well-known products significantly, then slightly lowering them and passing it off as a discount.

Graham shifted the blame to suppliers for the unannounced price rises, which he claimed caused the fluctuations, and assured that Coles had no intention of exploiting customers.

"The matters raised by the ACCC relate to a period of significant inflation leading to a sharply increasing level of supplier cost price increases," he said. "The subsequent discounts offered to customers on these items were the result of promotional investment by the supplier and Coles which delivered a reduction in the shelf price at a time when households were under significant cost-of-living pressure."