‘We’ll deliver betterment for small business’: Barnaby Joyce

Joe Kelly
FEBRUARY 21, 2016
THE AUSTRALIAN
New Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says he expects the government to deliver on the inclusion of a contentious “effects test” in competition law to provide fairer outcomes to small business owners.
The government last year deferred a final decision on a proposed overhaul of section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act as recommended by the Harper review of competition policy, amid concern the issue could overshadow the review’s other 55 proposals.
The inclusion of the test — designed to make it easier for small business to prove anti-competitive conduct by larger rivals — has split government and is violently opposed by the Business Council of Australia and major players like Wesfarmers.
Mr Joyce told Sky News’ Australian Agenda program this morning there was no point in commissioning the Harper review of competition policy if the government ignored its key proposals, warning this was what Labor did with the Henry review of taxation in 2010.
A long-time advocate for small business, Mr Joyce said he believed the government would deliver a positive outcome on the issue for smaller operators.
“We don’t go through the Harper review and then get to the end of it and say, ‘well, we’re not accepting any of that,’” Mr Joyce said.
“We will try and we will deliver some form of betterment so that people who are in business, small business, can be treated in a fairer way as they have the capacity to get themselves before a court if they have been pushed around by people who are not beating them by reason of competition (but who are beating them just because they’re bigger and knocking them out just to get rid of them. That’s not good for our economy,” he said.
Mr Joyce said that small business was the core constituency of both the Liberal and National Parties and that it was important for the government to fight for their interests.
“I think we have got the record where we can actually deliver,” he said. “We want to always ensure that that constituency clearly sees us as fighting on their behalf.”
Small Business Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has been consulting the major stakeholders who would be affected by a shake-up to section 46, but the final decision will rest with Treasurer Scott Morrison.
Council of Small Business of Australia chief Peter Strong cautioned government it needed to do much more than ensure small business owners could more easily take larger competitors to court for anti-competitive behaviour.
He said this was not an acceptable outcome and that changes to section 46 should prevent small business from having to go to the courts.
“What the government has got to do is to strengthen section 46 so the ACCC has the capacity to stop bullying behaviour which means small businesses do not need to go to court,” he said.
“It’s imperative that the government resist the threat and the pressure from the BCA and Wesfarmers and one or two other companies and sends a message that they are here for the whole economy and not just a small part of the economy.”