The thing is, that as far as a manufacturer is concerned, Coles Myer (in a market of 20 million) is small fry compared to Wal*Mart (in a market of 300 million). If Wal*Mart wants something from Dodgy Toys, Limited, they'll likely do it. They'll then go to Coles Myer and offer that product. Then hawk it to Woolworths.
Few toys which reach Australian shelves would be commissioned by Australian companies, so most of them would be designed to meet foreign standards anyway (or designed in countries with terrible enforcement like China). In the case of locally conceived stuff, yes, local stores can make a difference. But they'd still be outsourcing manufacturing to another jurisdiction (likely China with it's enforcement issues).
I agree. It's good to see Ms Wong & her sidekick Kevin07 actually being proactive, too. Something far too rare in Australian politics. And I'm glad that some of our retailers do care about this. Just because they have limited power doesn't mean they shouldn't do their part.
You're the one who brought Africa up as a rather poor example of a labour market (there are 57 countries & dependencies in Africa, which you lumped into one). There's your context. As to why I brought Sudan & Southern Sudan into it (look it up properly!), well, the fact is that even within African states there are enormous economic differences.