Horticulture producers to get better system to resolve disputes with traders under new code
Posted
The Federal Government will move to change the dispute resolution process in horticulture, after a review found it was inefficient and ignored by both growers and traders.
In the official response to the review of the Horticulture Code of Conduct, the Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Senator Anne Ruston, said it would be replaced by a system that was independent, fast and flexible.
The government is in the process of rewriting the code as the current one will expire by the March 31.
Senator Ruston said everyone should be brought under the code, with no exemptions, and she would move to give the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) more powers to rapidly respond to breaches of the code.
"The previous code exempted all pre-existing contracts from 1986, and so to date we are still seeing people operating under the 1986 contractual arrangements," she said.
"That will no longer occur, so now all traders, growers and merchants will be covered by this new code."
During the review's consultation, growers had reported being fearful of taking up disputes over price, quality or timing because of retribution, "put on holiday" and their produce rejected for sale.
Senator Ruston said it was not new that people felt powerless where a large business was concerned.
"But what we're seeking is to give the grower is the opportunity to go through a soft mediation, using the ACCC and resources in government before we have to end up in a legal environment, which can be pretty predatory particularly for smaller growers," she said.
The details are still subject to the rewriting, but Senator Ruston said growers would need to feel they had some comfort they could use a mediator on their behalf.
"The big stick legal options are still available, but hopefully they'll be able to solve 95 per cent of the issues through this soft mediation, before it escalates."
The new code would give the ACCC to fine companies in breach.
"What we sought to use is the powers of the ACCC to go into companies in breach, and force them to undertake to remedy things that had caused the problem in the first place."
The government has either accepted or noted the recommendations that:
- all parties be obliged to act in good faith
- there be a formula to determine prices for produce, in advance including pooling and averaging for produce of the same quality
- compel growers and traders to all be brought under the code, no exemptions
- set up a new dispute resolution that is independent, fast and flexible
Topics: agricultural-prices, fruit, vegetables, sydney-2000, launceston-7250, gawler-5118, margaret-river-6285, katherine-0850, orange-2800, bundaberg-4670, shepparton-3630
