Fair Trading Coalition Endorses Senate Committee Report and Calls on the Government to Strengthen the Trade Practices Act

The Fair Trading Coalition (FTC) which represents 22 small business organisations committed to reform of the Trade Practices Act today unanimously endorsed all 17 recommendations of the Senate Economics References Committee report into the Effectiveness of the Trade Practices Act in Protecting Small Business.

The FTC has also urged the Government to announce immediately its response to the Committee’s recommendations and to then introduce legislation into the Parliament to give effect to the Government’s response and to, as soon as possible, during this current term, introduce legislation into the Parliament to give effect to the Government’s response to this Senate Committee report and to the collective negotiation arrangements it has previously endorsed.

The Government, following the Dawson Report, has already committed itself to introducing a collective negotiation arrangement for small business. The Fair Trading Coalition is now calling on the Government to support the Committee’s recommendations for the strengthening of section 46 (misuse of market power) and section 51AC (unconscionable conduct).

As the Committee noted in its Report ‘the [Trade Practices] Act can best protect competition by maintaining a range of competitors, who should rise and fall in accordance with the results of competitive rather than anticompetitive conduct. This means that the Act should not be amended to protect competitors against competitive conduct.’ That view is supported by the Fair Trading Coalition.

The FTC also calls on state and territory governments to adopt the Committee’s recommendations and if necessary to pass complementary legislation.

Small business supports competition and the competitive process. Securing a fair trading environment requires changes to the Trade Practices Act and the FTC believes that endorsement by federal, state and territory governments of the Committee’s recommendations will be a significant step forward to achieving that necessary and desirable social and economic goal.

For further information contact the Motor Trades Association of Australia on 02 6273 4333

Apple & Pear Growers Association of SA Inc * Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association Ltd (AAAA) * Australian Automobile Dealers Association (AADA) * Australian Hotels Association (AHA) * Australian Motor Body Repairers Association (AMBRA) * Australian Newsagents’ Federation (ANF) * Australian Petroleum Agents and Distributors Association (APADA) * Australian Private Hospitals Association (APHA) * Australian Service Station and Convenience Store Association (ASSCSA) * Australian Business Enterprise Centres (BECA) * Chamber of Women in Business (CWB) * Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) * Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia Ltd (COSBOA) * Drycleaning Institute of Australia (DIA) * The Horticulture Council Ltd (HAC) * Independent Liquor Group NSW (ILG) * Independent Liquor Stores Association (ILSA) * Liquor Stores Association of Victoria (LSAV) * Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) * National Institute of Accountants (NIA) * Pharmacy Guild of Australia (PGA) * Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG)