Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is a very, very rare day, because I actually find myself in agreement with the member for Melbourne that the threshold should be increased. Who knows: the member for Melbourne and I might find a piece of artwork somewhere in Parliament House that we agree is something we both enjoy!

But to return to some of the points I raised before—that the genesis of the Treasury Legislation Amendment (Small Business and Unfair Contract Terms) Bill 2015 goes back to the Finding a balance inquiry back in 1997—I would like to read some of the notes of that report. It said:

Unfair conduct by big business towards small business is one such major concern. Indeed, it has been a matter of grave concern for many years. Not only has such conduct the potential to impact heavily on the economic health of the small business sector, and on the allocation of resources generally, it can also involve heavy social costs. Consequently, the Minister for Small Business, the Hon. Geoff Prosser MP, asked the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology to investigate and report on business conduct on 26 June 1996.

almost 20 years ago—

After a detailed investigation the Committee has concluded that concerns about unfair business conduct towards small business are justified, and should be addressed urgently.

In fact, the very first recommendation of that inquiry—recommendation 1.1—back in 1997 was:

The Committee recommends that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission be proactive in promoting compliance with the proposed new unfair conduct provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974.

That was 18 years ago. Today, this coalition government delivers on that promise and has achieved that goal for small business—something that was 18 years in the making.

Robert Gottliebsen, the business commentator, has said of this provision:

It was probably the best employment generating measure that we have seen out of Canberra in a decade or so.

And he is correct, because it is small business that creates the new jobs in this economy. It always has and it always will. If we are going to encourage entrepreneurial activity in this country, we have to say that we are going to stand behind those small business people and not allow them to be exposed to the misuse of market power and the imposition of unfair contract terms by large companies. And that is what we are doing in this parliament today.

It has been refreshing to hear the new Labor small business shadow minister talk about her support for small business, although I am looking to see what the Labor Party proposes to do about section 46 of the Trade Practices Act. Will they further stand with the small business community? Will they work with the government and introduce provisions on anticompetitive price discrimination, to strengthen those provisions we have on predatory pricing, to give the ACCC the resources and encouragement to go after them? I would hope that the new shadow small business minister does so, but I do have a concern that this may not happen.

There was a book written a few years ago called The Latham Diaries, in which former Labor leader Mark Latham sets out why we could never expect the Labor Party to join hands with us and work on section 46. Here is a quote from The Latham Diaries:

Monday, 3 November (2003)

My submission to Shadow Ministry this morning on competition policy – to beef up the Trade Practices Act—

This is Mark Latham speaking about himself—

met with surprising resistance from Tanner—

Lindsay Tanner.

How’s this from the intellectual spearhead of the Labor left? He says we shouldn’t touch the supermarket duopoly between Coles and Woolworths because they have an agreement with the SDA, the Shoppies. This is the bloke who made his name in the 1980s by winning control of the Clerk’s Union of Victoria from the Groupers. Now he’s defending their sweetheart deal with the bosses.”

Latham goes on in his notes in his book:

… The SDA had an agreement with Coles and Woolworths to maintain unionised workplaces. Inside the ALP the Shoppies have lobbied to protect the market share of Coles and Woolworths against competition from independent grocers and retailers.

This is an extract from page 241 from The Latham Diaries. (Time expired)

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