RENE HIDDING, MHA
Leader of the State Opposition
Wednesday June 29, 2005
Tennis centre upgrade long overdue
Opposition Leader Rene Hidding today welcomed the State Labor Government’s amazing backflip on supporting tennis at the Domain.
Mr Hidding said it was simply great news that the Lennon Labor Government had agreed to contribute $750,000 towards the desperately long-overdue upgrade of facilities at the Domain Tennis Centre, and that Paul Lennon was distancing himself from his predecessor’s anti-tennis antics.
Mr Hidding said the State Labor Government should be ashamed of its past neglect of the Domain Tennis Centre and denigration of events such as the Hobart Women’s International.
This neglect had seen Hobart in danger of losing the Women’s International if it did not agree to help upgrade the centre’s cramped and outdated facilities this year, as well as show some support for contributing to prize money.
“There is no doubt that Labor had to be pushed into providing the support it has announced today, and the State Liberals are pleased and relieved that Labor has finally seen sense in relation to this matter,” Mr Hidding said.
“The Hobart Women’s International is a real drawcard on the tennis circuit and helps to market Tasmania around the world. The State Labor Government should have worked over recent years to help make the event even more prestigious and player and spectator-friendly rather than risking its whole future as it did.
“The State Labor Government’s past neglect of tennis in Tasmania included the former Premier Jim Bacon’s rejection of requests by Tennis Tasmania for assistance in running the Women’s International, and his comments in 2001 that it:
“is not a top class tennis tournament. It is really a third class tennis tournament.”
“There are thousands of Tasmanians who not only love and support the Tennis International, but who love to play tennis at the Domain, and it has been sad to see its facilities fade with time,” Mr Hidding said.
“The $750,000 upgrade is desperately needed and wholeheartedly welcomed by the State Liberals.”
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MICHAEL HODGMAN, QC MHA
Her Majesty’s Shadow Attorney General
Wednesday June 29, 2005
Former TT Line Chairman damning of
Lennon’s nobbling of auditor’s report
Tasmania’s Shadow Attorney General, Michael Hodgman QC has today released a letter (available upon request) from former TT Line Chairman, Nick Evers, to the Auditor General which confirms that the Premier, Paul Lennon had nobbled the Auditor General’s investigation into the TT Line.
Mr Hodgman said that concerns raised by the State Liberals since the Auditor released his report were absolutely confirmed by Mr Evers in his letter and it was now clear that the a parliamentary committee had to investigate the role of the Premier and the Tourism Minister in the TT Line affair.
“The Premier, through writing the terms of reference for the TT Line report, has effectively nobbled the Auditor General’s report ensuring that neither the Premier nor his office and their role in the TT Line affair were properly investigated,” Mr Hodgman said.
“In his letter, Mr Evers is highly critical of the inability of the Auditor General to look at the political and Ministerial element in the TT Line affair saying that this ‘will inevitably be a narrower view of the situation than should properly be presented.’
“This limitation was also confirmed by the Auditor General, Mr Mike Blake, at his briefing to Members of the Tasmanian Parliament on 22 June.
Mr Hodgman said that the Premier, already under fire for whether he or his Office had breached the Criminal Code over the sordid Ken Bacon affair, had attempted to further run away from proper scrutiny by an independent officer, the Auditor General
“When the investigation was announced by the Premier in his Ministerial Statement in Parliament, there was a distinct impression that these would allow for proper investigation of the Premier, his Office and the Tourism Minister.
“In light of the Auditor General confirming this was not possible under the Premier’s terms of reference, it is only proper for a parliamentary committee inquiry into the role of these stakeholders.
“The State Liberals fully support the recommendations of the Auditor General’s TT Line report, but without further scrutiny of the Premier’s role and that of the Tourism Minister, questions will remain unanswered.
“And until these questions are adequately answered and the regime of Lennon Government secrecy removed, the noose around Premier Lennon’s neck will continue to tighten,” Mr Hodgman said.
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SUE NAPIER, MHA
Shadow Minister for Health
Tuesday June 28, 2005
State Government’s arrogant treatment
of pharmacist was unnecessary
The behaviour displayed by the State Labor Government in renewing a contract for the supply of methadone to drug dependent Tasmanians was unnecessary and smacked of arrogance, Shadow Health Minister, Sue Napier, said today.
Mrs Napier said that the treatment of Jerry Hampton pharmacies, one the State’s main suppliers of methadone, a substitute for the treatment of people dependent on heroin, was disgraceful.
“The State Labor Government has strung Jerry Hampton pharmacies along for many months forcing them to wait until just days before the current methadone supply contract expired on July 1 before it took action,” Mrs Napier said.
“Jerry Hampton is one of the most respected pharmacists in this State and the community and social benefits provided by the pharmacys’ methadone supply service are significant. Many other pharmacists are not willing to take on the challenges and cost of providing the service.
“Not only does the methadone supply service assist approximately 600 Tasmanian users move off their heroin addictions, it also assists in reducing the evils of heroin use such as crime, poor health and relationship breakdowns with family members.
“It is also more financially cost effective to the community, with the national figures in 1995 saying that the average cost to the community for intravenous drug use was some $72,000 per year per person, including health, welfare and justice.
“The State Government should be working pro-actively with more Tasmanian pharmacists to try to expand the number of pharmacies where dependent people trying to move off their addiction can access not only the methadone or buprenorphine, but also the support that comes with it.
“There have also been requests from participating pharmacies, for some time now, for access to better support for training and counselling as well as financial recompense, which the State Labor Government should heed.
“It is unfortunate that instead of conducting contract negotiations in good faith with a trusted supplier, the State Labor Government have ignored the beneficial role that Jerry Hampton’s pharmacies play and have undertaken to be mean-spirited in their negotiations.
“Sadly, this is not surprising behaviour from an increasingly arrogant State Labor Government that is more focussed on fancy new offices for its own people than genuinely assisting those Tasmanians most at risk,” Mrs Napier said.
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Peg Putt MHA
GREENS OPPOSITION LEADER
Tuesday, 28 JUNE 2005
CALL FOR PREMIER TO COME OUT OF HIDING ON TT LINE REPORT
Separation of TT Line and Tourism Ministries an Urgent Priority
The Tasmanian Greens today called for the Premier to outline his response to the Auditor General’s damning report on TT Line governance released last Wednesday, and urged him to immediately split the TT Line portfolio from the Tourism Ministry in line with the report recommendations.
Greens Opposition Leader Peg Putt MHA said the Premier should have read the report by now, and condemned his attempt to distance himself and his government from the revelations of poor decision making process, although the Premier himself was implicated, having been Minister for the TT Line over a substantial period during which he had presided over the woeful processes without concern.
Ms Putt said that the future of the TT Line’s CEO also remained a live issue for government given that he was in disagreement with report recommendations he could be required to implement and had presided over the deficiencies within the organisation.
“Paul Lennon appears to be deliberately missing in action over the damning TT Line report but surely he has managed to read the Auditor General’s report by now as there are serious issues to be dealt with which cannot and should not all be duck-shoved to the Board and it is up to him to outline the action he will take,” Ms Putt said.
“Foremost is the need for the Premier to act quickly to resolve the Ministerial conflict of interest and separate the TT Line Ministry from falling under the Minister for Tourism.”
“This is not a decision for the Board to make and is a mistake which must be rectified as soon as possible by the Premier who decides Ministerial arrangements.”
“The penchant of this government’s Ministers to only want to be associated with good news media events is part of what got them into trouble on the TT Line because they didn’t want to look too hard at the downside, and now Lennon is repeating that behaviour in running for cover rather than fronting up to deal with the problems.”
“There are also important decisions to be made about whether the current Board is comprised of the right mix of skills and whether the CEO, who has made clear his disagreement with some of the Auditor General’s recommendations, will stay on to implement them.”
Stakeholder & Shareholder Ministers in the TT-Line under Labor (since 1998)
1st Term: 1998-2002
• Minister for TT Line (Stakeholder Minister): Hon Paul Lennon MHA, as Infrastructure Minister
• Treasurer (Shareholder Minister): Hon David Crean MLC
Note: Initially Tourism was not listed by the Labor government as a separate portfolio.
2nd Term: 2002 State Election onwards
9 August 2002 – Post state election.
• Minister for TT Line (Stakeholder Minister): Premier Hon Jim Bacon MHA, also Minister for Tourism
• Treasurer (Shareholder Minister): Hon David Crean MLC
3 Feb 2004 – Post retirement of Treasurer Hon David Crean MLC.
• Treasurer (Shareholder Minister): Deputy Premier Hon Paul Lennon MHA announced as new Treasurer.
• Minister for TT Line (Stakeholder Minister): stays with Premier Hon Jim Bacon MHA, as does Tourism
1-2 March 2004 – Retirement of Jim Bacon.
• Hon Paul Lennon MHA, the Treasurer, is Acting Premier and takes on Hon Jim Bacon’s portfolios including TT Line and Tourism. Both stakeholder and shareholder Ministerial responsibilities vested in the one Minister.
22-23 March 2004 – Resignation of Hon Jim Bacon.
• Treasurer (Shareholder Minister): Premier Paul Lennon MHA remains Treasurer.
• Minister for TT Line (Stakeholder Minister): Ken Bacon MHA becomes Minister for TT Line, and also Minister for Tourism.
April 2005 – Departure of Ken Bacon MHA.
Minister for TT Line(Stakeholder Minister): Hon Paula Wriedt MHA becomes Minister for TT Line, and also Minister for Tourism.
Note: TT Line Arrangements Act 1993 provides for the Treasurer and the Minister for the TT Line to be the Shareholder Ministers. The Government Business Enterprises Act 1995 simply refers to the Treasurer and Portfolio Ministers, but it has become convention to identify the Shareholder and Stakeholder Minister in referring to the roles of these two Ministers.
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MICHAEL HODGMAN, QC MHA
Her Majesty’s Shadow Attorney General
Tuesday June 28, 2005
Noose tightening around Lennon’s Neck
The noose is tightening around Premier Lennon’s neck over his culpability in the Ken Bacon/Spirit III scandal, Tasmania’s Shadow Attorney General, Michael Hodgman QC said today.
Mr Hodgman said that questions remained over whether there had been breaches of the Criminal Code over the Ken Bacon affair after the Premier’s office had severely limited the Solicitor General’s inquiries, and it was now also clear that the Premier had effectively nobbled and limited the Auditor-General’s Report into the TT-Line.
Mr Hodgman said that he had questioned the Auditor-General, Mr Mike Blake, at his briefing to Members of the Tasmanian Parliament on 22 June as to why he had not questioned the stakeholder Ministers, Paul Lennon and Ken Bacon during his preparation of the TT Line report.
“The Auditor General said he had received the written request to conduct the audit into TT Line from the stakeholder Ministers on 15 March 2005. In short, the letter signed by the Premier severely limited the extent of the Inquiry and deliberately nobbled the Auditor-General,” Mr Hodgman said.
“The Auditor General said that if the TT Line Inquiry had been initiated by himself he would have questioned the stakeholder Ministers, Mr Lennon and Mr Bacon.”
Mr Hodgman said that he has since received a copy of the letter from the former Chairman of the TT Line Board, Mr Nick Evers, to the Auditor General dated 16 June.
“Mr Evers – a very distinguished Tasmanian and former senior Minister, and later Chairman of the Australian Tourist Commission – corroborated the nobbling of the Auditor-General’s inquiry by the Premier,” Mr Hodgman said.
“In his strongly worded letter to the Auditor General, Mr Evers said:
‘In that first draft you also completely ignored the substance of TT-Line’s relationship with government in which area the company has occasionally had cause for disquiet.’
“Mr Evers then damningly added that the Auditor-General had focused on ‘one dimension of TT-Line exclusive of other areas and of any external relationships.’ That could only refer to the Lennon Government,” Mr Hodgman said.
“Premier Lennon now has the problem that he is under suspicion indeed under attack from two prominent public figures whose integrity on these issues has never been called into question.
“The allegations of Mr Nick Evers and Mr Ken Bacon will not go away they must be fully investigated, preferably by a Committee of the Parliament.
“The noose is tightening around Paul Lennon’s neck and the more he wriggles the tighter it will get,” Mr Hodgman said.
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Peg Putt MHA
GREENS OPPOSITION LEADER
Monday, 27 JUNE 2005
ATTORNEY-GENERAL MUST CLARIFY PRISON-SEIGE INQUIRY
The Tasmanian Greens today called on the Attorney-General Judy Jackson to allow public input into the promised independent review of the May hostage incident at Risdon Prison, following concerns raised by the Justice Action group, and to clarify confusion about whether the Department is conducting a review of two divisions at the Risdon Maximum Security Prison or not.
Greens Opposition Leader Peg Putt MHA said that it was disturbing that information that the Justice Action group felt was pertinent to the Inquiry, being conducted by Mr Luppo Prins, was not accepted by the Inquiry on the grounds that it was not open for public comment.
Ms Putt also said that given the criticism and vilification that members of Prison Reform Action Group had received by the government following the hostage incident, it was only fair for their representatives to have input to the current Inquiry.
“The Greens are calling on the Attorney-General to allow Mr Prins to accept any information which may impact upon his Inquiry into the Risdon Prison hostage incident from Justice Action or others outside the Prison,” Ms Putt said.
“We also need clarification of whether the Justice Department is holding a review of Divisions 7 & 8 at Risdon Maximum Security Prison, as members of Justice Action had been informed, and if not why does Mr Prins believe it is underway?”
“The hostage siege at Risdon earlier this year emphasised serious problems at the Prison, and both the prison population and the broader public need to feel confident that the government is getting on top of those problems, however this internal confusion and lack of willingness to engage with those at the coal-face can only refuel people’s feelings of doubt and frustration,” Ms Putt said.
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Peg Putt MHA
GREENS OPPOSITION LEADER
Monday, 27 JUNE 2005
FEDERAL ACCREDITATION LOSS WOULD MEAN TWO ASSESSMENT PROCESSES FOR PULP MILL
Task Force Stamp of Approval on RPDC Documents Further Compromises Perceived Independence
The Tasmanian Greens today will write to the Federal Environment Minister regarding RPDC concerns that the activities of the Pulp Mill Task Force may not only have compromised public perceptions of the RPDC’s independence, but have also jeopardised the accreditation of their pulp mill assessment to also assess the Commonwealth’s environmental requirements.
Greens Opposition Leader Peg Putt MHA pointed out that concerns around the RPDC’s perceived independence would not necessarily be smoothed over just because the Tasmanian government claimed everything was on track, because if the Commonwealth had concerns and withdrew accreditation then a second, separate impact assessment process would have to be conducted to deal with issues falling under the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
The Wilderness Society yesterday publicised Freedom of Information material in which the Executive Commissioner of the RPDC Julian Green stated:
“If the Task Force activities are not reined in two outcomes are likely. Firstly, the Commission will be compromised in the eyes of the public and interest groups and therefore the assessment process seen to be contaminated. Secondly, the accreditation of the process may be in question.” (emphasis added)
The Greens also displayed an RPDC document stamped with an approval of the Pulp Mill Task Force and believe that the RPDC may itself have jeopardised perceptions of its independence by doing work under contract to the Pulp Mill Task Force, outside of their statutory duties, prior to being called on to assess the Gunns’ pulp mill proposal.
“It is not just a matter of whether the Tasmanian government or the RPDC feel they can sustain a perception of independence of this body charged with assessing Gunns’ pulp mill proposal, the accreditation of the RPDC to undertake aspects of impact assessment required under Federal law is also in jeopardy,” Ms Putt said.
“I will be writing to the Federal Environment Minister regarding these concerns over the perceived independence of the RPDC to undertake vital assessments on threats to nationally endangered species, for example.”
“There is a real possibility that the gung-ho attitude of the Lennon government in using public money to propagandise Gunns’ pulp mill may result in the need for a second assessment process at Federal level.”
“The Greens are also very concerned that RPDC documents are circulating with a stamp of approval from the Tasmanian government’s Pulp Mill Task Force, and that this work on pulp mill guidelines undertaken by the RPDC under contract to the Task Force may have compromised their independence.”
“The RPDC has prepared pulp mill emission limit guidelines on contract to the Pulp Mill Task Force and outside of their statutory duties, and now they are to assess a pulp mill according to these guidelines and are somewhat belatedly expressing concern over public perceptions of compromised independence in their relationship with the Task Force.”
Ms Putt also wants to know what action the RPDC has decided to take about the revised project scope for Gunns’ proposed pulp mill and public calls for submissions to the IIS guidelines to be re-opened.
ATTACHED: Cover page of RPDC Recommended Environmental Emission List Guidelines, with Approved by Tasmanian Government ‘stamp’. (1page).
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SUE NAPIER, MHA
Shadow Minister for Health
Monday June 27, 2005
State Labor Government must listen to
Tasmanians over jack-jumper treatment
Shadow Health Minister Sue Napier today called on the State Labor Government to listen to the concerns of many Tasmanians who are allergic to jack jumpers and adopt the State Liberals’ policy to fund immunotherapy treatment for jack jumper allergies.
Mrs Napier said that the world-leading immunotherapy treatment program at the Royal Hobart Hospital is set to end for the original trial participants and additional funding is desperately needed for the program to continue.
“The current doctor responsible for the program, Dr Konrad Blackman, is simply unable to continue to commit significant hours of voluntary time to a program that the State Labor Government does not appear to support,” Mrs Napier said.
“The Tasmanian patients fortunate enough to have been part of the trial have had three years of immunotherapy treatment. But if their treatment is discontinued, they face a 10 per cent risk of redeveloping their allergy, which could in fact cost them their lives.
“And this does not include the thousands of other Tasmanians who are suffer from jack jumper allergy and are desperate to gain access to this ground-breaking treatment.
“Tasmanians who are allergic to jack jumper bites, including many young children, have a life saving treatment almost within their grasp, but the State Labor Government is letting them down through its ‘no-more-funding’ stance.
Mrs Napier said it was not acceptable for the State Labor Government to put lives on the line in this way and to demonstrate such scant regard for world-leading treatment developed here in Tasmania.
“Tasmanian scientists and medical experts have developed a world-leading jack jumper treatment that can save the lives of many Tasmanians and Australians,” Mrs Napier said.
“A clinical trial started in 2002, involving more than 60 Tasmanians, and this demonstrated 100 per cent success at preventing severe reactions and received international recognition when published in The Lancet, the world’s leading and most prestigious medical journal.
“But in 2004, the Lennon Labor Government cut short the project refusing to extend this life-saving treatment to sufferers beyond the original trial participants.
“In April this year the State Liberals announced that a Hidding Liberal Government would fund ongoing immunotherapy treatment for Tasmanians who experience life threatening reactions to jack jumper stings. We urge the State Labor Government to make a similar commitment.
“The State Liberals believe that this world-leading life-saving jack jumper treatment program must not be allowed to end due to Lennon Labor Government penny pinching,” Mrs Napier said.
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WILL HODGMAN, MHA
Shadow Minister for Economic Development
Monday June 27, 2005
Labor arrogance and secrecy on display yet again
Shadow Economic Development Minister Will Hodgman today slammed Economic Development Minister Lara Giddings for doing yet another Lennon Labor Government disappearing act in the face of bad news.
Mr Hodgman said it was typical of the Lennon Labor Government’s arrogance and lack of accountability that when it was revealed on the weekend that the State Government had been asked to rein in the activities of the pulp mill taskforce, State Government Ministers were nowhere to be seen.
“Instead, the State Labor Government wheeled out a public servant to address this matter a serious one, because it is paramount that public faith in the pulp mill project and that support for the independent process that will ultimately have the final say on it, is not compromised,” Mr Hodgman said.
“Minister Lara Giddings jumps all over good-news stories she is completely fixated on good news.
“But when there is even a hint of bad news, she, like the rest of her elected colleagues, are no where to be seen.
“Labor Ministers only seem to care about issues when they are “good news”. This can hardly help with providing leadership to resolve problems – as taxpayers pay Governments to do – when this State Government simply acts as if problems are a matter for public servants to deal with, not Ministers of the Crown.”
Mr Hodgman said the State Liberals were totally supportive of a world-class environmentally friendly pulp mill being established in Tasmania.
“A pulp mill would represent the single biggest private sector investment our State has ever had, employ thousands of Tasmanians, and value-add our timber resource.
“The State Liberals want this project to go ahead and therefore are concerned if the RPDC believes that it could have been compromised in the eyes of the public and interest groups if the task-force’s activities were not reined in.
“It is very important that Tasmanians have access to any information they want or need in relation to this exciting project, but they don’t want Labor to use the pulp mill taskforce and bus for party political purposes.
“The independence of the RPDC in this process must not be compromised one iota, and it is a disgrace that Labor could not even bring a Minister out yesterday to explain what action it had taken to address the Commission’s concerns.”
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PETER GUTWEIN, MHA
Shadow Minister for Education
Monday June 27, 2005
Wriedt remains weak and ineffective
over student free days
Many Tasmanian parents remain in the dark over supervision of their children on student free days (most taking place next week) with the Education Minister still unable to effectively communicate her message to schools, the Shadow Education Minister, Peter Gutwein said today.
Mr Gutwein said that despite Minister Wriedt telling Tasmanian parents that she had sorted out the issue of free school supervision of students on student free days, the issue remained unclear in information recently provided to parents by some schools.
“Since Minister Wriedt’s so-called ‘tough-talking’ comments in Parliament on the 16th of June, at least thirteen schools from different parts of the State have sent information to parents suggesting supervision is not provided by these schools on student free days,” Mr Gutwein said.
“One primary school even prompted parents to contact a local child-care provider and reminded parents that payment for this supervision was required at the time of booking.
“It is concerning that this is still occurring and it begs the question of whether the State Labor Government is providing adequate resources to all schools to cover the supervision of students on student free days.
“Clearly, we have a situation where the Education Minister in this State is ineffective and weak when it comes to properly implementing policy in our schools.
“Minister Wriedt has made a mess of the new student curriculum and the implementation of its reporting framework and this latest issue of student supervision on student free days demonstrates further ineptitude in policy implementation by the Minister.
“As far as the State Liberals are concerned, all teachers should have appropriate access to professional development and student free days can provide this. However, the State Minister for Education must make sure that this does not come at the expense of parents.
“No parent should be inconvenienced, financially or otherwise, by student free days. I call on the Minister, yet again, to get her act together and make it absolutely crystal clear to all schools that they must provide free supervision to students on these days.
“Further, the Minister must make sure that all schools are given adequate resources to cover any additional costs to them of supervising students.
“With the next round of student free days about to start this week, the Minister needs to ensure that all schools provide crystal clear information to all Tasmanian parents on free student supervision,” Mr Gutwein said.
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.JEREMY ROCKLIFF, MHA
Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Water and Environment
Monday June 27, 2005
Labor’s actions on food labelling enforcement need to be explained
Shadow Primary Industries Minister Jeremy Rockliff today demanded the Lennon Labor Government come clean on what additional action it is taking to ensure supermarkets and other food retailers are complying with food labelling laws.
Mr Rockliff said existing Australian laws currently require all unpackaged imported foods, such as fruit and vegetables, be clearly identified as imported.
The States have responsibility for enforcing these laws.
Mr Rockliff said that in light of the current community concerns surrounding food labelling and cheap vegetable imports, the State Labor Government ought to be taking additional action to ensure these laws are being complied with.
“The State Labor Government has a responsibility to ensure these laws are being complied with as one small part of its effort to help Tasmanian shoppers easily distinguish fruit and vegetables produced here from those that are imported.
“Tasmanians would expect that in light of recent community concerns, that the State Government would have at the very least asked the Office of Consumer Affairs to undertake some spot checks at supermarkets and other grocers, to ensure that all imported produce is being identified as imported.
“The Lennon Labor Government must explain whether this has occurred, and if it hasn’t, why not.
“It should also explain whether any breaches have been detected, and what action has been taken.”
Mr Rockliff also expressed delight at the strong support the two motions put forward Tasmanian Liberal Leader Rene Hidding and passed by Federal Liberal Council on the weekend received.
The motions called for more prominent country of origin labelling for goods on sale in Tasmanian stores as well addressing issues of market power by supermarkets.
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Rene Hidding, MHA
Leader of the State Opposition
Saturday 25 June, 2005
Rene Hidding receives unanimous support for opening motion at Federal Liberal Council for small business and farmer friendly policy
State Opposition Leader, Rene Hidding, late last night successfully moved a motion at the Federal Liberal Party Council in Canberra calling for small businesses, farmers and local producers to be adequately protected from unscrupulous large and multinational companies.
Mr Hidding said that both the ACCC and PricewaterhouseCoopers believe that the major supermarkets will increase their generic or home brand product share from about 15% to over 30% within the next five years.
“Unfortunately, this massive growth in home-brand products means a down-turn in home-grown products. Home brand products are also often imported, inferior quality produce, with an often misleading and obscure label.
“Much of the recent unstable environment within the Tasmanian vegetable and fresh food industry had been brought on by large supermarket chains and large multinational companies squeezing every cent out of Tasmanian producers and suppliers with no regard for their social or economic welfare.
“It is vital that the Federal Government, along with all State and Territory jurisdictions, support an enhanced Trade Practices Act which will strengthen provisions against predatory pricing, misuse of market power and the intimidation of suppliers by these large companies,” Mr Hidding said.
“And combined with this, there must be stricter regulations on country of origin labelling so that consumers are not mislead by improper or unsatisfactory labelling.
“A concerning example is the supermarket industry. Around Australia the share of the supermarket trade by Coles and Woolworths is now around 75% with this figure being even higher in Tasmania at 85%.
“Under this regime, there is great pressure on farmers, producers and suppliers to severely cut their margins. In fact, the Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Graeme Samuel, recently told a Federal parliamentary hearing that the “least powerful in the negotiating process through the supply chain is the individual processor”.
“This market dominance also raises serious questions about the range and labelling of products that the two supermarket chains stock on their shelves.
“The Tasmanian Liberals are concerned about the dominance by the large supermarket chains and other unscrupulous multinational companies and the effect of this market dominance on prices for consumers, and the impact on jobs in small businesses.
Mr Hidding said that the State Liberals were fully behind the Tasmanian farmers’ Fair Dinkum Food Campaign rally and were proud to be able to move this motion at Federal Liberal Council supporting many of the aims of the Tasmanian farmers. We support them in their right to earn a living, and to be paid a fair price for their product.
“It is pleasing that the Federal Government have already responded positively to the concerns of Tasmanian farmers and farmers nationwide by introducing a series of legislative amendments to the Trade Practices Act combined with real funding for the fresh food industry,” Mr Hidding said.
Text of motion moved by Tasmanian Liberal Leader at 2005 Liberal Party of Australia Federal Council, Canberra:
“This Federal Council calls on the Australian Government to reform the trade practices act to strengthen provisions protecting small businesses against Misuse of Market Power and Unconscionable Conduct.”
