Community
21 February, 2025
Positive talks with Woolies
CAIRNS Mayor Amy Eden is confident of some wins after meeting Woolworths executives this week following her call for the supermarket giant, as well as Coles, to establish warehouses or a distribution centre in the city.
Last week Cr Eden called on the supermarket giants to establish warehouses in the region to prevent shelves being stripped bare when the Bruce Highway is cut every wet season.
The big brands have distribution centres in Townsville to supply the Far North, as well as north-western and central Queensland.
“The past week hasn’t been grocery shopping – it’s been a scavenger hunt,” Cr Eden said last week.
However, Woolworths said prior to the wet it had stocked up with supplies despite the empty shelves after the highway and railway line were cut in the recent floods.
“Once the immediate issues around restocking shelves at its nine FNQ supermarkets are done, we’ll meet again to progress the ideas raised during this morning’s video call,” Cr Eden said.
“I’m still waiting to hear back from Coles following my letter to the CEO on Thursday (last week).”
Cr Eden has proposed an action plan to be be implemented by all stakeholders before the next wet season, including seasonal storage/warehousing solution (potentially on land already owned by Woolworths), more limits on bulk purchasing of essential items to be implemented earlier, stronger, consistent messaging from all levels of government, community groups and supermarkets to change behaviour around panic buying, continued pressure and advocacy on fixing the Bruce Highway.
“Even though stock levels are returning to normal, we can’t let this one slide,” Cr Eden said.
A Woolworths spokeswoman said ahead of each wet season, “we proactively put aside extra contingency stock for our Far North stores in case transport lines are cut, increasing stock levels in our Cairns stores and filling storage containers in the region with emergency long-life products”.
She said Woolworths stores had been receiving “a consistent stream of deliveries since the Bruce Highway reopened on Friday”.
“From Friday and over the weekend, we delivered more than 2000 pallets of groceries into the Cairns region, with deliveries continuing throughout the week.”
The spokeswoman said a barge carrying Woolworths stock by sea arrived in Cairns on Tuesday to help boost supply.
“It will take a while longer before our stores are back to normal, but we are now on track to recovery. Our Townsville distribution centre plays an important role in stocking our stores throughout the Far North with fresh produce and key packaged items.”
She said, while shelf-stable products and stock could be built up and stored for long periods, fresh products and those in high demand needed to be constantly replenished by a steady flow into the distribution centres before being quickly sent into stores.
Coles did not respond to a request for comment.
