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Speaker 1: You're listening to a Muma Mea podcast. Mumma Mea acknowledges

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Speaker 1: the traditional owners of land and waters that this podcast

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Speaker 1: is recorded on.

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Speaker 2: Hey, I'm Taylor Strano. This is Mumma MEA's twice daily

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Speaker 2: news podcast, The Quickie.

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Speaker 1: The verdict is in.

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Speaker 2: After months of investigation, the a Triple C has released

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Speaker 2: its final report into Australia's supermarket sector. So what does

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Speaker 2: it mean for you and your weekly food shop? Plus,

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Speaker 2: we're looking into the growing trend of sologamy. That's people

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Speaker 2: who are choosing to marry themselves. Before we get there,

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Speaker 2: Here's Clare Murphy with the latest from the Quickie newsroom

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Speaker 2: for Monday March twenty four.

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Speaker 1: Thanks Taylor. The federal budget will be handed down tomorrow,

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Speaker 1: the Albanezi government using it to springboard into their election campaign,

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Speaker 1: which is said to be dominated by cost of living pressures.

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Speaker 1: Both the major parties are promising to make Australians better off,

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Speaker 1: with Labor focusing on healthcare and the Coalition slamming the

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Speaker 1: government for increases in power bills and grocery prices. Of

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Speaker 1: his fourth budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has announced a one

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Speaker 1: hundred and fifty dollars energy bill rebate divided equally over

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Speaker 1: the final two quarters of twenty twenty five to help

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Speaker 1: ease some of that financial pressure. Doctor Chalmers has denied

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Speaker 1: it's a pre election bribe for votes, saying he would

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Speaker 1: describe it as a government responding to the pressures that

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Speaker 1: people still feel despite the progress they've made on inflation.

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Speaker 1: Tomorrow's budget is expected to reveal that Labour has saved

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Speaker 1: and reprioritized ninety five billion dollars over its term, including

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Speaker 1: cutting two point one billion dollars in consultants as more

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Speaker 1: money is put back into the public service. And Israeli

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Speaker 1: airstrike has reportedly killed Hamas leader Salah Albadwill and his wife,

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Speaker 1: as the death toll from the war in Gaza now

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Speaker 1: exceeds fifty thousand after two months of relative kalm has

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Speaker 1: phased one of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel

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Speaker 1: saw many hostages and prisoners swapped as fighting halted. Gazans

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Speaker 1: are again fleeing for their lives after Israel effectively abandoned

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Speaker 1: the deal, launching a you all out air ground campaign.

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Speaker 1: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin nettan Yahoo, who has said repeatedly

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Speaker 1: that their aim is to annihilate Hamas says this new

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Speaker 1: campaign aims to force the group to give up the

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Speaker 1: remaining hostages. After five weeks in hospital, Pope Francis has

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Speaker 1: returned to the Vatican. The eighty eight year old made

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Speaker 1: his first public appearance since February on the balcony of

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Speaker 1: the hospital before heading home. His face appeared swollen and

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Speaker 1: there were bandages visible on both his arms, but he

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Speaker 1: was breathing on his own without needing to use oxygen.

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Speaker 1: He's been battling double pneumonia, his doctor saying while he's

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Speaker 1: now stable enough to send home, he's still on bed

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Speaker 1: rest as it will take some time for his aging

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Speaker 1: body to fully heal, ordering him to avoid large, stressful meetings.

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Speaker 1: Hundreds gathered at the hospital to see the pontiff's appearance.

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Speaker 1: The Pope speaking briefly to a seventy nine year old

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Speaker 1: woman in the crowd, thanking her for coming to visit him,

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Speaker 1: as he blessed those gathered below. Raffer Snoop Dogg has

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Speaker 1: revealed that he wants to help mend the rift between

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Speaker 1: the royal brothers, saying he's known both Harry and William

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Speaker 1: for a long time and would be happy to act

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Speaker 1: as a peacemaker between them. Snoop says Harry asked him

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Speaker 1: to perform at William's bachelor party, but he couldn't make it,

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Speaker 1: saying anything they want him to perform at now he's there.

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Speaker 1: Snoop says they're brothers. Anything that gets them in the

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Speaker 1: same room and being brothers again will be worth it,

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Speaker 1: going on to say that life is too short to

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Speaker 1: not make things right, telling the Sunday Mirror, if Snoop

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Speaker 1: can help heal that relationship, then let's do it.

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Speaker 2: Thanks Claire. Next, what the soupermarket inquiry means for you.

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Speaker 2: For years now, many Aussies have suspected something wasn't quite

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Speaker 2: right at the checkout prices seem to keep climbing even

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Speaker 2: as supermarkets.

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Speaker 3: Reported record profits.

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Speaker 2: Last week, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission confirmed these suspicions,

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Speaker 2: delivering a final report after its Yellong inquiry into the

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Speaker 2: supermarket sector. The verdict Australia's major soupermarkets are among the

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Speaker 2: most profitable grocery retailers in the world, increasing their profit

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Speaker 2: margins even during the cost.

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Speaker 3: Of living crisis.

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Speaker 2: The a Triple C found that Coals and Wowartz have

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Speaker 2: so much power that they simply don't even need to

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Speaker 2: compete hard on price. Together, these two giants control sixty

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Speaker 2: seven percent of Australia's grocery market, with Woolies holding thirty

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Speaker 2: eight percent and Coals at twenty nine percent. The report

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Speaker 2: revealed that while the soupermarkets have been finding ways to

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Speaker 2: cut their own costs, they haven't been passing those savings

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Speaker 2: onto us the shoppers. In fact, both the majors have

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Speaker 2: actually increased their margins on branded products over the past

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Speaker 2: five years, with Woolies showing a more significant increase, so

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Speaker 2: even opting for the sometimes cheaper home brand options have

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Speaker 2: become more costly. The report also found that suppliers, particularly

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Speaker 2: those providing fresh produce like fruit and veggies, are essentially

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Speaker 2: at the mercy of the big two. Many suppliers reported

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Speaker 2: fears of retribution if they raise concerns about their treatment

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Speaker 2: by the soupermarkets. So what's to be done about all

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Speaker 2: of this? The a Triple C has made twenty recommendations

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Speaker 2: to address the lack of competition in the sector. These

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Speaker 2: include things like making prices clearer for shoppers, particularly when

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Speaker 2: packaging sizes change, and requiring soupermarkets to be more transparent

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Speaker 2: with suppliers about how they negotiate prices. The watchdog has

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Speaker 2: also called for reforms to planning and zoning laws to

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Speaker 2: make it easier for new competitors to enter the market,

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Speaker 2: and a review of Coals and Willard's loyalty programs, which

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Speaker 2: have been described as ambiguous and confusing. So while the

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Speaker 2: report didn't go as far as recommending that the big

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Speaker 2: two supermarkets be broken up, that's something that the Nationals

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Speaker 2: and the Greens have called for, it did note that

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Speaker 2: new merger laws will give the a Triple C more

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Speaker 2: power to scrutinize future acquisitions by the major players. In response,

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Speaker 2: the federal government has committed two point nine million dollars

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Speaker 2: over three years in the forthcoming federal budget to help

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Speaker 2: suppliers stand up to the big supermarket.

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Speaker 4: So what does this.

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Speaker 2: Mean for our weekly shop? While the recommendations themselves don't

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Speaker 2: immediately lower prices, increased scrutiny and potential regulatory changes could

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Speaker 2: eventually lead to more competition and better deals for consumers.

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Speaker 2: In the meantime, experts suggest shopping around where possible and

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Speaker 2: being weary of special deals that might not be as

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Speaker 2: special as they seem. The allure of the yellow price

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Speaker 2: reduction sticker. Who can possibly resist now? From supermarket monopolies

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Speaker 2: to marrying yourself? Yes, we really do cover everything on

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Speaker 2: a Monday. It seems that sologamy is on the rise.

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Speaker 2: That's the act of tying the nott solo Mummamie is

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Speaker 2: we can. Writer Katie Powers reports.

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Speaker 3: Self marriage. It's a concept you might have heard of

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Speaker 3: but probably never really understood. It's called sologamy. That's the

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Speaker 3: act of marrying yourself, and it's becoming increasingly popular around

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Speaker 3: the world, though it remains virtually unheard of in Australia.

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Speaker 3: I've met someone who did, in fact marry herself. Fifty

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Speaker 3: nine year old Robbie is a wedding celebrant who, after

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Speaker 3: the breakdown of a twenty year relationship, decided to tie

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Speaker 3: the knot with herself. Robbie's journey to self marriage began

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Speaker 3: after a series of disappointing dating experiences following her long

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Speaker 3: term relationship ending. Despite having three children from that relationship,

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Speaker 3: she found herself deeply lonely and searching for connection.

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Speaker 4: I got quite depressed and was diagnosed with anticipatory grief.

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Speaker 4: It was that grief of if I never find somebody

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Speaker 4: who's going to be my person, who will I spend

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Speaker 4: the rest of my life with.

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Speaker 3: After studying, counseling and practicing gratitude, Robbie had a life

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Speaker 3: changing revelation.

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Speaker 4: I discovered the problem. It was that I didn't love

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Speaker 4: myself and my entire life. I had spent looking to

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Speaker 4: others to validate my self worth. But when I learned

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Speaker 4: to love myself, that feeling of oh, I must find

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Speaker 4: someone that just went away.

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Speaker 3: The idea to actually marry herself came during a conversation

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Speaker 3: with her sister. Robbie jokingly suggested it, and her sister

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Speaker 3: encouraged her to go ahead. So in twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 3: just before COVID lockdowns began, Robbie held a ceremony in

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Speaker 3: her garden with four friends and her daughters in attendance.

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Speaker 3: Robbi stood in front of a full length mirror and

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Speaker 3: recited vows to herself.

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Speaker 4: I vow to remember that I am responsible for my

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Speaker 4: own happiness and to practice loving kindness and compassion towards myself.

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Speaker 4: I vowed to see the best in myself even when

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Speaker 4: I'm feeling down on myself. Feeling conflicted and doubtful. I

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Speaker 4: vow to open my heart and blanket myself with self

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Speaker 4: acceptance for all those parts of me that I disown

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Speaker 4: and don't like.

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Speaker 3: She brought herself a gold ring, which she wears on

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Speaker 3: her pinky finger like a promise. The following year, once

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Speaker 3: lockdowns had lifted, Robbie even took herself on a honeymoon

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Speaker 3: to Port Douglas. She now celebrates her anniversary each year.

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Speaker 3: But not everyone understood Robbie's decision.

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Speaker 2: At first.

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Speaker 4: My mother thought I was mad she didn't come to

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Speaker 4: my ceremony, but that's She's in her eighties. She is

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Speaker 4: my biggest supporter. Now she doesn't really get it, but

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Speaker 4: she can see that I'm really happy.

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Speaker 3: Some friends were confused too, with one asking if she'd

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Speaker 3: need to divorce herself if she met someone new. The

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Speaker 3: answer is obviously no. Soulogamy is purely symbolic, with no

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Speaker 3: legal status in Australia, and Robbie hasn't necessarily closed the

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Speaker 3: door on future relationships. What's changed for Robbie is her

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Speaker 3: approach to relationships, Discovering that hanging onto relationships long after

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Speaker 3: red flags began to pop up was simply because she

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Speaker 3: was seeking validation of her self work. Robbie has since

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Speaker 3: begun offering sologamy ceremonies to others, though so far only

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Speaker 3: to people overseas. Naturally, slogamy has its critics. Some people

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Speaker 3: dismiss it as narcissistic or pointless. When people question why

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Speaker 3: she needed a ceremony at all, Robbie turns the question

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Speaker 3: back on traditional marriage.

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Speaker 4: Well, I could say the same thing about couples. Why

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Speaker 4: have the dress and the flowers and spend thirty thousand

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Speaker 4: dollars on your wedding?

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Speaker 3: For Robbie, the journey to self marriage has been transformative.

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Speaker 4: For so many years, I just thought I had to

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Speaker 4: find someone. I felt desperate internally. Now I've done a

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Speaker 4: complete one eighty. But I think this is how it

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Speaker 4: was always meant to be single at heart. I think

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Speaker 4: the most important relationship that we have in our lives

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Speaker 4: is the one that we have with ourselves.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for taking some time to feed your mind with

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Speaker 2: us today. The Quikie is produced by me Taylor Strano,

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Speaker 2: and Claire Murphy, with audio production by Lou Hill