Grocery website will be replaced: PM

Consumer advocacy group Choice has denied it wants to sue the federal government
over its dumping of price-monitoring website GroceryChoice.
Choice took over responsibility for Labor's much-maligned project last December.
But the government scrapped the website on Friday, five days before it was due to be
relaunched.
Liberal senator Guy Barnett on Monday said Choice was seeking legal advice on its
options following the project's collapse.
But Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said the organisation had no plans to sue.
"We're not into lining legal eagles' wallets even more with action. We are much more
interested in getting some consumer benefit out of this and that is where our
energies are focused," he told AAP.
Mr Zinn said Choice was examining its "voluminous" GroceryChoice contract to work
out what information it could keep for future use and what had to be handed back to
Treasury.
The Australian National Retailers Association is also looking forward in the wake of
the failed website.
Chief executive Margy Osmond said the group was considering developing its own
"web-based mechanism" to help consumers at the supermarket.
"We are in discussions with government, we are very sympathetic about what they've
been trying to do," she said.
"But it's early days. The last thing we want to do is create any unreal expectations
about what is or isn't possible."
Mr Zinn questioned the independence of an industry-run website.
"There's not a turf war going on about who has the right to give consumers the best
information, however, that information needs to be fair, accurate, reasonable and
helpful," he said.
"If that could be provided by the retailers, we would love to see it."
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said he was confident GroceryChoice
would be replaced with another model.
"I'm confident the minister will work a proposal through with the industry over
time," he said.
"It will just take time."
He defended the government's efforts to protect shoppers, pointing to the increased
anti-cartel and predatory pricing powers given to the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission and the soon-to-be introduced unit pricing code.
"The government has been very active on the whole question," he said.