Division Description Changes — Bills — Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Bill 2024; Second Reading — 28th Nov 2024

Change	Division
representatives vote 2024-11-28#10 Edited by mackay staff on 2024-12-07 15:36:12	Title Bills — Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Bill 2024; Second Reading Treasury Laws Amendment (Fairer for Families and Farmers and Other Measures) Bill 2024 - Second Reading - Agree with the bill's main idea Description ~~<p class="speaker">Milton Dick</p>~~ <p>We've now dealt with the issue of the second reading and that question being put. I will put the question before the House that the bill be read a second time. The difficulty is the question was never stated before the House. It was moved and it was seconded.</p> <p>I'm aware, member for New England. The question now is that the bill be read a second time. On the amendment moved by the member for Riverina, the difficulty is that that question was never stated before the House. It was moved and seconded, but the question was not stated. We just resolved the question that had been stated before the House, which was that the question be put on the second reading. You can appreciate the position I'm in. The question before the House is that the bill be read a second time.</p> ~~<p></p>~~ ~~<p></p>~~ The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a second time in the House of Representatives. In other words, they voted to agree with the main idea of the bill. This means they can now discuss it in more detail. ### What does this bill do? In his second reading speech, Fenner MP [Andrew Leigh](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/fenner/andrew_leigh) (Labor) [explained that](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/28044/&sid=0000): *> When Labor came to office, we asked former competition minister Dr Craig Emerson, one of Australia's best policy brains, to review the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct. Dr Emerson consulted broadly, and concluded that the code was not doing its job. As he noted, there were no penalties, and no formal complaints had been raised after the 2021-22 financial year. His report made 11 recommendations, and** the government accepted all of them. The most important recommendation was that the Food and Grocery Code be made mandatory, with substantial penalties for more harmful breaches.* > *> As Dr Emerson noted, what it really means** is that the supermarkets will need to treat their suppliers in good faith. They must not abuse their superior bargaining power, the muscle that they have over smaller suppliers.* > > The government's intention is that penalties will apply principally to corporations—that is, to supermarkets themselves. Consistent with other industry codes, the bill provides for non-body corporate penalties. Breaches by non-bodies corporate are lower to provide a proportionate approach. > *> The bill will ensure penalties for treating suppliers poorly in breach of the code are not merely a cost of doing business. These are serious penalties. They ar*e the highest corporate penalties under any industry code. > > The bill provides that the maximum penalty that can be prescribed in the code will be the greater of $10 million, three times the value of the benefit gained from the contravening conduct, or 10 per cent turnover in the preceding 12 months.

~~Milton Dick~~
We've now dealt with the issue of the second reading and that question being put. I will put the question before the House that the bill be read a second time. The difficulty is the question was never stated before the House. It was moved and it was seconded.
I'm aware, member for New England. The question now is that the bill be read a second time. On the amendment moved by the member for Riverina, the difficulty is that that question was never stated before the House. It was moved and seconded, but the question was not stated. We just resolved the question that had been stated before the House, which was that the question be put on the second reading. You can appreciate the position I'm in. The question before the House is that the bill be read a second time.
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The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a second time in the House of Representatives. In other words, they voted to agree with the main idea of the bill. This means they can now discuss it in more detail.
### What does this bill do?
In his second reading speech, Fenner MP [Andrew Leigh](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/representatives/fenner/andrew_leigh) (Labor) [explained that](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/28044/&sid=0000):
> *When Labor came to office, we asked former competition minister Dr Craig Emerson, one of Australia's best policy brains, to review the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct. Dr Emerson consulted broadly, and concluded that the code was not doing its job. As he noted, there were no penalties, and no formal complaints had been raised after the 2021-22 financial year. His report made 11 recommendations, and the government accepted all of them. The most important recommendation was that the Food and Grocery Code be made mandatory, with substantial penalties for more harmful breaches.*
>
> *As Dr Emerson noted, what it really means is that the supermarkets will need to treat their suppliers in good faith. They must not abuse their superior bargaining power, the muscle that they have over smaller suppliers.*
>
> *The government's intention is that penalties will apply principally to corporations—that is, to supermarkets themselves. Consistent with other industry codes, the bill provides for non-body corporate penalties. Breaches by non-bodies corporate are lower to provide a proportionate approach.*
>
> *The bill will ensure penalties for treating suppliers poorly in breach of the code are not merely a cost of doing business. These are serious penalties. They are the highest corporate penalties under any industry code.*
>
> *The bill provides that the maximum penalty that can be prescribed in the code will be the greater of $10 million, three times the value of the benefit gained from the contravening conduct, or 10 per cent turnover in the preceding 12 months.*