The Nationals Member for Gippsland Darren Chester has welcomed a new tool to encourage farmers to provide authorities with details of competition or fair trading complaints – without fear of retribution.<\/p>\n
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched a new online tool for the agriculture sector to report potential breaches of laws enforced by the ACCC.<\/p>\n
Mr Chester said the move was welcome as it enabled producers to raise their concerns with the ACCC, without fear of reprisals from others in the supply chain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis online tool removes a disincentive many farmers face when considering whether to report their concerns to the ACCC,\u201d Mr Chester said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we can remove that disincentive to reporting, the information flow to the ACCC will improve and the commission will then be able to get to work and consider what steps need to be taken.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ACCC can\u2019t act if our farmers don\u2019t feel comfortable coming forward and providing the information.\u201d<\/p>\n
People can now contact the ACCC\u2019s agricultural team using the tool on its website. The information provided is encrypted and the person\u2019s IP address is removed so their identity is kept secret.<\/p>\n
The ACCC will then use the information provided as the basis for a potential investigation.<\/p>\n