Nationals senators cross floor to back Greens on competition law changes

Gabrielle Chan and Melissa Davey
Tuesday 15 September 2015
Nationals also gain assurance in renegotiated Coalition deal that a proposal for better protections for small business from market abuse will be given ‘proper consideration’ by cabinet
On the first day of Malcolm Turnbull’s leadership, three National party senators crossed the floor to support a Greens motion advocating a change in competition laws known as the effects test which would stop big business “abusing” market power.
The move came shortly after the Nationals leader, Warren Truss, negotiated significant gains in a new Coalition agreement with Turnbull, including winning responsibility for the water from environment portfolio to agriculture under Barnaby Joyce.
Labor accused Turnbull of doing “a dirty deal” with the National party to shore up his support.
The Coalition agreement also included a commitment to take the competition policy to cabinet, maintaining current climate change policy including reductions targets, maintaining a plebiscite on same sex marriage in the next term and increasing financial support for stay at home parents.
Soon after a statement in the Nationals party room, three National senators crossed the floor in the Senate to join the Greens on competition policy and two ministers, the assistant health minister, Fiona Nash, and the indigenous affairs minister, Nigel Scullion, abstained from the vote.
Bridget McKenzie, John Williams and Matt Canavan backed a Greens motion which called on the government to bring forward legislation that amends the Competition and Consumer Act to introduce the test to “better protect farmers and small business owners from anti-competitive conduct”.
The move puts the Nationals behind small business affairs minister Bruce Billson who has long been advocating the competition laws in favour of small business. Billson had been losing support in cabinet for the bill, including from Turnbull who is understood to be opposed the change.
Major companies including Telstra, Bluescope and Qantas are understood to have joined the two big supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, as well as Wesfarmers and the BCA in a major lobbying campaign to defeat the move – which was recommended by the Harper review of competition policy.
The Coalition deal between the Liberals and the Nationals notes there should be “proper consideration” by cabinet to Billson’s amendments – which could mean that cabinet could still dump the bill.
“We have an assurance this issue will be dealt with by cabinet,” said Truss. “Minister Billson has liased extensively by industry.”
The Nationals win on water policy followed winning senate support for a cap to government water buybacks just hours before the leadership spill. The Coalition agreement effectively means the Nationals would have responsibility for the Murray Darling Basin Plan and water allocation.
However the change does not include responsibility for the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) act, which includes the water trigger and would have given the Nationals more power to change the outcomes on controversial projects like the Shenhua Watermark coalmine.
Barnaby Joyce said the agreement would “mitigate” changes made in the previous parliament, initiated partly by his potential opponent in his New England electorate, Tony Windsor. It will also give greater power to eastern irrigators, a move which South Australian Coalition members have traditionally opposed.
“We have managed to mitigate the effects that the Greens and Labor party and the independents were going to do to the basin in the previous government,” said Joyce.
Labor environment shadow and South Australian MP Mark Butler said Turnbull had struck the deal “just for his own personal ambition to become the prime minister”.
“Let’s be clear – this is a fundamental betrayal particularly of South Australia,” said Butler.
“Malcolm Turnbull has sold out South Australia just for his personal ambition to become prime minister. We have to ask as South Australian MPs, where was Christopher Pyne? Where was Simon Birmingham?
“They were so busy counting votes that they were too busy to stand up for South Australia’s interest in having the Murray Darling Basin Plan implemented in full and on time. The health of the river will always end up last under Barnaby Joyce.”
The Nationals party room resolved at a meeting in Albury earlier this year to take a tougher approach to the Coalition agreement “at the next available opportunity”.
While many in the junior Coalition partner were unhappy with the switch to the more progressive Turnbull, the document is renegotiated every time there is a change of leader because it is an agreement between the two leaders. Following sustained opposition to Turnbull’s leadership, the Nationals negotiated a better deal under the new leader.
Both Truss and Joyce had been sending warnings to the Liberals for the life of the leadership crisis, even though there was little prospect of the Nationals breaking the agreement.