Coles tells tribunal Australian watchdog's Kalgoorlie block risks consumer choice
By Saloni Sinha ( November 9, 2026, 07:01 GMT | Insight) -- Coles Supermarkets Australia has told the Australian Competition Tribunal that the country’s antitrust watchdog risks overriding consumer choice by blocking a new supermarket in Western Australia’s Kalgoorlie, because it could drive an existing rival out of business. On the first day of a two-week hearing challenging the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s July decision to block the proposed lease acquisition, Coles’ lawyer John Sheahan argued that the watchdog’s approach positioned the regulator or tribunal as the arbiter of what consumers should prefer, rather than allowing competition to reveal those preferences.Coles Supermarkets Australia has told the Australian Competition Tribunal that the country’s antitrust watchdog risks overriding consumer choice by blocking a new supermarket in Western Australia’s Kalgoorlie, because it could drive an existing rival out of business....
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