Senator Joyce said today that Trade Practices Act reforms to assist small business against big business must be enacted as a matter of urgency.

“While there was great urgency to get changes through Parliament to enable big business to have their mergers approved, there doesn’t appear to be the same urgency to strengthen the Trade Practices Act to help small businesses.

“Now that big business has their mergers and acquisitions powers, we must increase protection for small business via a strengthening of the Trade Practices Act.

“Small businesses need a stronger Trade Practices Act to help them against abuses of market power by the big end of town. Quick changes to section 46 of the Trade Practices Act were promised to stop those abuses of market power. It is essential these be delivered.

“Guarantees were made to enact those section 46 changes before new laws affecting small business service stations came into effect on 1 March this year. It is obviously imperative these be introduced into Parliament House as quickly as possible to meet this deadline.

“If further delays in strengthening section 46 were to happen, this would disadvantage small business. However these section 46 changes must be real changes, not cosmetic. This delay in strengthening section 46 will disadvantage small business service station operators and will mean they miss out on key additional protections under the Trade Practices Act.

“The new collective bargaining notification process also needs changes to help small businesses wanting to get together to bargain against big businesses. Currently, only small businesses with dealings with a big business below a threshold amount of $3million a year are able to use the new process.

“A higher amount is quickly needed to allow more small businesses to take advantage of the new process. We should make it easier for small businesses to be able to band together, and a simple increase in the threshold amount will allow that.

“Only one fee should ever be payable for each group of small businesses banding together. At present, multiple fees may be payable where the very restrictive conditions for a discount were not met.

“A strengthening of s 51AC of the Trade Practices Act dealing with unconscionable conduct should also be an immediate priority. These changes have been flagged for several years, but small businesses are still waiting.

“Small businesses are at the heart of the economy and are a sign of every Australian citizen’s right to exercise the freedom to be their own boss. Small businesses are particularly strong in rural and regional areas but the aspiration to be in business is not confined to those areas, it is held by the vast majority of people who are going to work in the traffic today.” Senator Joyce said. Ends