National President's letter to Associations October 2004

Dear Members

I am sorry that it has taken so long for me to put fingers to keyboard, but now that I do, I am intending to follow the excellent suggestion made by the Victoria President, Mrs Paula Pither-Mills and tell you more about the areas where we represent and how that representation is carried out.

I see that my first meeting this year was with the Personal Taxes Advisory Group (PTAG) which usually meets in Canberra. This group advises the Department of Taxation on the various “products” produced by the Department for use by “Personal” or individual taxpayers but does not cover the areas of small business, including farming businesses. We receive presentations and are asked to make comment on the various types of Tax Return forms that may be in the marketplace, or intending to be used there. The creation of a new “product” – the term used for the actual tax return forms – is often a long process, with various members of the public being singled out at random to test these forms once they have been created. Some of you may have received the new “Short” tax form last year (I note that I received one this year), and this is to gain comment on the ease of use for consumers before the product is adopted by the Department for use by all.

There has been a new process created, whereby each of the members of the advisory group is asked to network out to their members, so that focus groups can be used for wider consultation. Several of the member Associations has put names forward and some of these ladies have been called upon to participate. Once the names are submitted I have no control over who does what and where, so if you are a member who has offered and not yet been asked to participate, I hope that your turn will come soon.

There was to be a “testing” of a newly created centre in Brisbane but this was called off at the last moment. We were also asked especially for members to be involved in the Capital Gains Tax return consultations, and some New South Wales members were asked to participate. There is no support for travel or accommodation for these meetings, and I gather that this situation will continue in the future which may mean that only those close to the testing centre will be called upon. We did receive a presentation on the actual conditions of the new Baby Bonus, and also the Superannuation contribution increase and I have sent these to the Presidents to disseminate among their members. It is often interesting to get “the facts” on these issues, and find out how widely they differ from the media reports!: Each of the Presidents were given copies of the “pink pig” poster, created for the superannuation increased co-contribution, at the recent Sydney meeting, and I hope that these have been used for your information.

In the Taxation area we were asked to give comment on the time taken to process GST refunds, and as only one state replied with a negative comment on this issue, I gather that you are all happy with the process; else I am sure that your President would have advised me otherwise. On this occasion, the comment could have included business, including primary production.

This is always a reactive role, although I am always available to take any of your concerns forward, this is not the pathway for any concerns regarding Tax Law – they would still need to go to the Federal Minister on your behalf. May I say at this point that any concern from any members Association is strengthened and more likely to be taken seriously if it has the agreement of the other Associations and is progressed by the National Office? I am frequently asked by various government department personnel whether a letter received by them is the opinion of the whole of the Association, or only one State or Territory.

Let’s now look at the work of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Consumer Consultative Council, which has representation across the board from Associations such as the Disabled, a State Council of Social Security, Consumer Law Centres, the Consumer Health Forum, Consumer Affairs Council(who publish the “Choice” Magazine and us. The ACCC, with its past Chairman Professor Alan Fels, and now Graeme Samuels at the helm, only deals with matters relating to unfair practice and consumer unfair competition issues. These can include false advertising, such as in mobile phone offers, the publishing of “was” prices with false statements of discounts available to customers, the inappropriate selling of life insurance policies and funeral contracts to remote indigenous communities and direct selling products claiming performance results which cannot be substantiated by evidence.

What it does not do is control pricing levels, although with the performance of Telstra, there needs to be definite proof that the appropriate processes have been followed where Telstra has advised its consumers in a timely manner that certain price rises will occur and any offset benefits that may accompany them.

The ACCC sits very comfortably with the ASIC, the Australian Securities Investment Commission and frequently complaints made to ACCC are then directed on to ASIC.

The ACCC’s most recent campaign was relevant to Unfair Practices which affected Disadvantaged Consumers, and each of the Associations was sent a copy of the forms to be used when such unfair practices were detected and reported to the ACCC. I do hope that this campaign was networked out to the members, as in many of our rural and remote communities these unfair practices are often not detected and disadvantaged consumers are totally unaware of their rights to complain and have action taken on their behalf. I am sure you have all read or seen TV Media reports on how inappropriate some of these rogue traders and their representatives are, and this gives our members an excellent opportunity to help friends and neighbours who may be taken advantage of. The campaign was launched in early December last year, and although we are seeing some definite response, there is a concern that we are only seeing the “tip of the iceberg”.

The Presidents met in Sydney at the beginning of July, and are working through a second draft of the National Constitution. There seem to be issues which have caused friction in the past which will be addressed in the future. I have just had to hand a further draft from our pro bono solicitor Mr Orm Thomas, and this will be sent to the Presidents in the very near future. Please ask your Group or Division President for a copy if this matter is of interest to you – I would appreciate a wide range of comments from you to your Association President.

Before closing, I take the opportunity to express my thanks to both the New South Wales and Victorian Associations, who offered me warm hospitality while attending their conferences and the opportunity to speak formally during the conference agenda.

The members on the whole seemed to be content with the efforts of the National Office on their behalf, and understand that it is important for their National President to have input when requested from the Association Presidents, to enable her to truly present the views of the members. I do realise that the Presidents are busy ladies, but it is rather disappointing to receive either “no comment” or silence when a request for input is sent out. Still, I will continue to do my best, and I really do appreciate the information when it is received, as do the various bodies where I represent you.

Please accept my best wishes for your continuing work in your branches and communities.
Myra Pincott
National President.