Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Previously I brought to the attention of this parliament an issue regarding a Michel’s Patisserie franchise in my electorate of Swan. Today I wish to provide parliament with an update on this matter, on which I am working hard for two of my constituents in order to achieve a fair outcome. At present they are both under enormous duress and can see their lifesavings, assets and reputations sliding into an abyss. The last time I raised this matter I said I would continue to pursue this to the best of my ability.

Raising this subject again may seem repetitious but I make no apology for the process and duty of working for my constituents. I am pleased to report that on 3 June 2008 a productive meeting was held with the ACCC and five coalition MPs, including me; Don Randall, the member for Canning; Dennis Jensen, the member for Tangney; Joanna Gash, the member for Gilmore; and Mal Washer, the member for Moore. As you can tell by the number of members in attendance at this meeting, issues with franchises are not confined to the electorate of Swan but occur in electorates right across Australia. Attending this meeting from the ACCC were Commissioner John Martin and the ACCC General Manager of the Compliance Strategies Branch, Nigel Ridgway. I would like to thank them for their time in making themselves available to meet with us.

They informed us that the current state of play for franchisees experiencing difficulties with franchisers is to seek mediation in order to reach a resolution to their problems. However, it remains that mediation still poses a problem for franchisees because of the costs involved. You see, many franchisees are unable to pay half the fee that is required of them by the time the matter reaches the mediation stage. This is because they are usually insolvent and on the edge of bankruptcy. I therefore put it to the parliament that the government consider a fund to assist franchisees with the cost of mediation.

At our meeting with the ACCC, we were also informed that the real solution to problems with franchisers needs to come from the federal government. This is because under current legislation there is little that can be done to pin unethical franchisers down. I would also like to call on the government to provide the necessary legislation to support franchisees and to ensure that the franchise industry is operating both fairly and ethically. Government programs need to be put in place that provide franchisees with the opportunity to speak to someone to get advice and that offer the option of pursuing arbitration with franchisers. It is a tragedy that within our current commercial community these problems still exist in the small business world.

Franchisees are still being bullied and pushed to the wall by franchisers. The government and opposition need to take decisive action to protect these Australian working families who have purchased franchises with their savings in the hope of bettering their lives and financial situations. The Rudd government claims to represent the interests of working families. Well, here is the chance for the Rudd government to do something, with opposition support, and protect a large group of working families who are being treated unfairly by big business franchises so that they stand to lose all they have achieved in their working lives. (Time expired)