Political hot potato: West Australian government rejects calls for Soviet-style regulator to be abolished

A WA farmer is giving away 200 tonnes of ‘illegal’ spuds as a public protest against a bizarre, Soviet-style Ministry of Potatoes, which imposes strict controls on the production and distribution of the vegetable.

Like in Soviet Russia, the WA Government wants to control supply to keep prices steady.

In WA, the powerful Potato Marketing Corporation controls who can grow potatoes, how many hectares can be planted and the varieties produced.

The PMC, established under the Marketing of Potatoes Act 1946, also has the power to search vehicles suspected of carrying more than 50kg of potatoes, demand the details of the driver and impound any ‘illegal’ potatoes.

Tony Galati, who has been battling the regulator for the last 20 years, is facing the threat of prosecution for growing about 10 per cent more than his allotted potato quota, The Australian revealed this week.

SPUD RULES GIVE GROWER THE CHIPS

NO ABOLISHING POTATO LOBBY IN WA

Mr Galati began giving away the roughly 50,000 4kg bags at his Spudshed stores today. The potatoes would be worth about $600,000 at most supermarkets, where potatoes usually sell for $3 a kilo.

The Barnett government has refused to abolish the outdated PMC for at least two years until the next election, despite a report from its own Economic Regulation Authority in favour of the move, and evidence that the bureaucracy pushes up costs and stifles productivity.

Read more here:  http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/political-hot-potato-wa-government-rejects-calls-for-soviet-style-regulator-to-be-abolished/story-fnkgdftz-1227185925919