Page 2140 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 9 September 1992
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Turning to a more detailed discussion of the Bill itself, I will start with the first category of amendments which expand the functions of the Consumer Affairs Bureau. The Bill brings the definitions of "consumer", "acquire", "goods", "services" and "supply" in the Consumer Affairs Act into line with those in the proposed Fair Trading Act. Except for the definition of "consumer", the proposed Fair Trading Act definitions are not significantly different from those presently in the Consumer Affairs Act.
However, as the definition of "consumer" now stands, people who acquire goods, services or interests in land for use in a business, profession, trade or calling are not covered by the Consumer Affairs Act. Consequently, complaints about these kinds of goods and services are not presently within the scope of the bureau's functions. By adopting the proposed Fair Trading Act definition of "consumer", business people will be able to seek the assistance of the Consumer Affairs Bureau if they have complaints about consumer-type goods or services. As I indicated in my presentation speech for the Fair Trading Bill, one cannot assume that all business people are in a superior bargaining position to that of the ordinary consumer. Indeed, the principles of fair trading require that all suppliers subscribe to the same minimum standards, regardless of the status of the parties to a bargain.
In addition, I note that the adoption of a broader definition of "consumer" will also cover the development and implementation of codes of practice for fair dealing between suppliers and consumers. This is necessary because, as the Consumer Affairs Act now stands, the director does not have the power to intervene in a dispute between a commercial landlord and tenant. The amendments will allow the director, when carrying out the functions conferred on him or her by the proposed Fair Trading Act, to use the full range of investigative powers contained in the Consumer Affairs Act.
The second group of amendments that I would like to discuss in greater detail establish the product safety advisory committee I mentioned previously. As a result of the updating of the product safety provisions, the new committee will be required to advise me, as Minister, on the full range of consumer product safety standards and orders that can be made under the Act. At its own initiative, or at the Minister's request, the committee will be able to advise whether a consumer product safety standard or consumer product information standard should be prescribed, amended or revoked, or whether a consumer product safety order or a consumer product recall order or notification order should be made, amended or revoked.
The final category of amendments contained in the Bill update the product safety provisions to bring them into line with their counterparts in the Commonwealth Trade Practices Act and product safety provisions in State and Northern Territory laws. Although manufacturers and importers have the primary responsibility for ensuring that goods they sell are safe, they, along with wholesalers, distributors and retailers, need guidance to ensure that the goods they supply comply with the Territory's product safety laws. As with the unfair practices provisions in the proposed Fair Trading Act, the Government therefore needs the power to impose obligations on manufacturers and suppliers to ensure that the appropriate minimum standards of safety are observed. Indeed, the Government requires access to a wide range of powers to set and enforce these standards in the Territory.
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