Dennis Jensen (Tangney, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also addressed to the Treasurer. Would the Treasurer outline to the House how new trade practices regulations will help small business? Are there any risks for small business?

Peter Costello (Higgins, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the honourable member for Tangney for his question. Members of the House will know that recently the government passed the Trade Practices Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2006, commonly known as the Dawson bill, which delivered an easier notification system for collective bargaining for small business, increased powers for the ACCC to search premises and higher penalties for contraventions of the act.

In relation to the collective bargaining regime, to be eligible the annual value of a transaction must not exceed $3 million. That is the general case. But, from today, I announce that small businesses in selected industries who have annual transactions greater than $3 million will still be able to take advantage of those collective bargaining provisions. In particular, in petrol retailing the transactional limit to take advantage of those collective bargaining provisions will be $15 million; in motor vehicle retailing it will be $20 million; in farm machinery it will be $10 million; and in primary production, generally speaking, it will be $5 million. That provides a very generous threshold in those particular industries to take advantage of the collective bargaining provisions, and it is a very direct benefit to small business.

I want to thank and congratulate the Minister for Small Business and Tourism for the work that she did in getting this legislation through. The Labor Party opposed this legislation. We had to fight for it in the Senate. We have now enacted it; we have now brought in regulations which will allow better thresholds. This will be of benefit to small business, and I want to thank members of the House for their support for that legislation.