Australia: The most Aussie bloke ever could go to jail for growing too many potatoes

Tony Galati, an infamous personality in Australian culture known for his chain of grocery stores in Western Australia and, as aforementioned, magnificient eyebrows, is in a spot of legal bother. Galati’s long-standing feud with a ’potato regulator’ (of all things on this planet of ours) has finally boiled over.

SEE ALSO: 14 things that prove Australia is definitely not a real place

What’s the problem?

The issue, apparently, is that Galati is negatively influencing the fresh produce market by growing more potatoes than is actually needed. The regulators claim he planted more than his self-imposed quota of approximately 6,000 tonnes of potatoes, according to the ABC.

Australia’s Potato Marketing Corporation (PMC), an unusual market regulator, recently tabled their annual report and found that Galati is making potatoes really hard to sell in Western Australia. "A substantial oversupply, largely by one grower, negatively [influenced] returns and distorted markets," the report stated.

The PMC, the only spud regulator in Australia, decides who can grow potatoes, how many hectares can be planted, the price of potatoes and has the power to stop and search vehiclessuspected of carrying illegal potatoes.

Galati takes no notice of the PMC. For example, he gave away 200 tonnes of excess potatoesto customers for free earlier this year, causing a fluctuation in the tightly-controlled market and leaving other growers with excess produce.

PMC chief executive Peter Evans told ABC Rural radio, "it is widely known Mr Galati is not a supporter of regulation."

The potato king owns six Spudshed stores plus a giant liquor outlet, a meat processing plant, and employs over 700 staff. His network of farms is located all over Western Australia, a state that takes up a third of the entire Australian continent. This means Galati is in a unique position to attempt to stand his ground as he grows, washes and sells the potatoes at his stores — unlike any other seller in the region.

So, Galati is one man who isn’t phased by the fuss, and says he’ll gladly go to jail on contempt charges because it would make Western Australian authorities an international laughing stock,according to The West Australian.

In his own words, Galati would just like the "potato police" to "bugger off."

Who is this guy?

Galati is something of a national treasure in parts of Australia, known for being what many see as the epitome of the "Aussie Bloke." His penchant for blue shorts, a singlet and vest combo, a thick accent and can-do attitude are vital features of his character and have made him a dearly loved face in Australia’s media for some time.