Peter Dutton calls for boycott of Woolworths after Australia Day merchandise dropped

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has called for a boycott of Woolworths over its decision to stop stocking Australia Day merchandise, a move the supermarket says is due to a lack of demand from customers.

Some media outlets and several Coalition politicians have voiced outrage over the decision of Woolworths and Big W to no longer sell the Australia Day-themed goods ahead of the 26 January public holiday. Woolworths Group said the decision was linked to what it called a “broader discussion about 26 January and what it means to different parts of the community”, but that the decision on not stocking extra paraphernalia for the holiday was a business call.

“There has been a gradual decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise from our stores over recent years,” Woolworths said in a statement.

The group added that Big W sold Australian flags in-store year-round, and would continue to do so.

But the decision was quickly criticised as “woke” by opponents, who indicated the stores should still stock the goods, despite a reported dwindling of demand.

In a post on social media, Dutton accused Woolworths of “peddling woke agendas” and “trying to cancel Australia Day”. The Queensland Coalition backbencher Henry Pike alleged “it’s yet another pathetic attempt by big corporations to impose their woke ideology on us and to cancel our national day by stealth”; the Victorian backbencher Jason Wood claimed “big corporations are trying to appease Labor”.

The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, said “big business has now set its sights on attacking Australia Day”.

In a 2GB interview on Thursday, Dutton called the Australia Day change an “outrage”.

“If [customers] don’t want to celebrate Australia Day, well that’s a decision for them, but I think people should boycott Woolworths. I would advise very strongly to take your business elsewhere and go to IGA or Coles or Aldi,” he said.

“I think until we get common sense out of a company like Woolworths, I don’t think they should be supported by the public.”

Dutton went on to claim the Liberals were no longer “the party of big business”, saying his party was instead “friend of the worker and the small business owners and employees in that business”.

“For Woolworths to start taking political positions to oppose Australia Day is against the national interest, the national spirit,” the Liberal leader alleged.

Asked for response to Dutton’s calls for a boycott, a Woolworths Group spokesperson replied: “With food at the heart of our grocery business, our focus is on offering customers food and produce for all occasions, including Australia Day.”

Agriculture minister Murray Watt accused Dutton of being “always focused on a culture war.”

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“Our government is focused on the prices that supermarkets charge, Peter Dutton is focused on the kind of thongs that supermarkets sell,” he said at a press conference.

“I don’t think that’s the kind of priority that most Australians have right now.”

Stephen Bates, the Greens MP for Brisbane, wrote on X: “Party that claims to love the free market and hate ‘wokeism’ suddenly huge fan of direct intervention and boycotts.”

In a separate post, quoting Dutton’s remarks, he published a snowflake emoji.

In an interview on Channel Nine, the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, suggested Woolworths should continue stocking the products even if customers didn’t buy them, saying it wouldn’t affect their “bottom line”. He alleged the decision was part of “this constant desire to divide us”.

“In terms of their bottom line, I’m sure Woolies can handle selling some merchandise. Their bottom line is not going to be impacted by selling some great Aussie merchandise, which is what we all want to see,” Taylor said.

The latest controversy comes amid mounting pressure on supermarket giants to justify their business practices and pricing decisions. The federal government this week re-energised a review of the voluntary code governing grocery stores, flagging the potential to make the code mandatory or increase fines for uncompetitive behaviour.