Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We are pleased to support this wise piece of legislation that the Assistant Treasurer has introduced. There are not many that we have thought of as being well crafted, but this is one. It is a good measure. It has not peaked early; it has been quite a long time coming, but that has much to do with some of the preparation that has gone into the measure and the careful weighing of consumer interest with costs of doing business and finding, essentially, a pathway that can see an option for component pricing restrictions on restaurant and catering enterprises to be set to one side subject to meeting some yet to be disclosed regulatory requirements that would see scope for surcharges, particularly on weekends and public holidays, which at the moment if not displayed in a particular way risk the business operator offending the law. That can create a demand for separate menus and some confusion where not all the prices are included, and this has been the subject of some examination dating back to, I think, 2008.

Where we have got to now does not necessarily go into the specifics of the requirements that the restaurant, cafe and catering industry will need to fulfil; that will come with regulation. But we are encouraged by the fact that where separate surcharging is provided on restaurant and cafe menus it will be clear, it will be understood and it will come as no surprise to customers as they seek to get behind that important part of the economy.

The Competition and Consumer Amendment Bill 2013 amends the Competition and Consumer Act to insert regulation-making powers to enable those regulations that I just referred to that would exempt representations from the component pricing requirement in Australian consumer law. The amendment will allow a regulation to be made to place restaurant and cafe menu surcharges on specific days outside the component pricing requirement of the ACL.

You may recall, Madam Deputy Speaker, that in 2009 there was quite a furore when the government amended the Trade Practices Act to stipulate that restaurants and cafes were required to incorporate any additional surcharges into prices listed on menus. I recall and have researched what happened at the time. The commission, I think, had a campaign that said, 'No asterisk and no small print; you've got to have a separate menu with prices clearly spelled out.' This became the subject of quite a degree of debate. The Productivity Commission's annual review of regulatory burdens on business and consumer services in 2010 recommended that the government amend the Trade Practices Act—or, as it is known now, the Competition and Consumer Affairs Act—to have restaurant and cafe menu surcharges for specific days placed outside the scope of the component pricing provisions of that legislation.

The government responded favourably to that but, as the minister would know, had to go through quite a process to get multiple jurisdictions to sign up to a change. I think three states and the Commonwealth need to agree to that, and that level of agreement has been secured by the Assistant Treasurer. An exposure draft was released in December last year, consultation ensued and we are now here today to debate what is a sensible and well-calibrated measure which sees some more detail to emerge through the regulations. The way in which the Assistant Treasurer has introduced the bill to the House, we are confident and optimistic that this measure will be implemented competently.

It has been well received by all in the industry sector affected. It is something that I think consumers will probably see a net benefit in, in that many businesses forced to produce multiple menus might simply bulk up the non-surchargeable day prices and leave the surchargeable to the days where cost pressures are significant and have been added to by the government's carbon tax and other regulatory burdens. That might see a better response for consumers, where the non-surchargeable day pricing better reflects good value and then the particular cost imposts on those surchargeable days will be identified and communicated quite clearly.

It is a welcome red tape reduction measure. The government has not peaked early on that task, with 22,000 new or amended regulations and a small fraction repealed over its period in office—one of the reasons why doing business in our country is comparatively harder now than in most other advanced economies than it was prior to the election of Labor.

Industry groups such as the AHA, CCIQ, Clubs Australia, National Tourism Alliance, and restaurant and catering industry associations are all very supportive of this change.

I think my time is about to expire. I am happy to keep going. How long would you like me to keep going for?

Honourable Members:

Honourable members interjecting—

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will keep going. I thought we were moving to adjournment.

Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! We are. If you are going to take a couple of minutes, that is fine.

Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We think this is a good measure. We would urge the government to get a taste for deregulation inculcated into its thinking—because there are no early signs that has happened since the election of Labor—to recognise that what might seem a nice regulatory impost that is only just a little bit of extra work for the small business community represents another intrusion on very scarce time.

The coalition supports this amendment and we will watch with interest to see it implemented competently to reflect the pressures on business and also to ensure that consumers are clear on the prices being asked of them so that they can purchase wisely.

Debate adjourned.

Federation Chamber adjourned at 19:31.