Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce has welcomed back the focus on Section 46 of the Trade Practices Act.

“It is good to see that Trade Practices Act Section 46 predatory pricing, to protect small business, has come onto the political agenda again. This is an issue I have been fighting for since I came to the Senate, as can be noted in my maiden speech.

“The extent of our freedom in this nation is manifest in our capacity to control as much of our life as possible – owning your own business is a fundamental attribute of this freedom. One of the key antagonists to the greater indication of freedom is when a monopoly, oligopoly or other significant market player exerts its power in such a way as to exclude small players from the market by no other reason than their size.

“Predatory pricing laws and unconscionable conduct actions have to be strengthened to protect small business. These changes must be definitive rather than tokenistic. Australia needs, as I have stated before, a ‘Jefferson’ style principle as to why small business is essential to the freedom of each individual who lives in this country.

“The greater the breadth of small business, the greater the depth of the individual’s potential to determine their own destiny, the better the potential for individual thought and expression without the worry of a higher order on a higher floor.

"During this election the conservative side of politics must make a clear statement to conservative people: the path to higher economic freedom is through a conservative government which clearly spells out laws which will protect the Australian right of entry into small business and which delivers a fair chance of continued existence in small business." Senator Joyce said.