The Green Institute, the policy think tank and research organization for the Australian Greens political party, unveiled a plan to create a national network of publicly owned supermarkets called Fair Go Grocers to compete with Coles Group (ASX:COL) and Woolworths Group (ASX:WOW), according to a Tuesday statement.

Under the plan, Fair Go Grocers will operate as a full-service supermarket offering 30% discounts compared with Coles and Woolworths prices on essentials like fruit and vegetables, bread, milk, and meat while providing smaller discounts across other store items.

The proposal would require a federal government investment of AU$25.1 billion over five years to forcibly acquire 200 Coles and Woolworths stores and three distribution centers, and to construct an additional 424 stores and 10 distribution centers across Australia, the Green Institute said.

It added that Fair Go Grocers would strive for a 20% market share in the supermarket sector, and would be cost-neutral after five years with store revenue funding operational expenses including wages and inventory.

"This funding arrangement, together with the elimination of the profit margin, executive salaries, shareholder payments and marketing costs, would slash Fair Go Grocers' costs to far below Coles and Woolworths," the organization said.

A poll commissioned by the Green Institute found that 84% of Australians are in favor of publicly owned supermarkets to reduce grocery prices by cutting out the profit.

Coles and Woolworths did not immediately respond to requests for comment from MT Newswires.