By CASEY NEILL
MIGRANTS will be better protected from shonky deals under an ALP Federal Government, Bruce candidate Julian Hill said.
Mr Hill live-streamed a chat with Andrew Leigh, the Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Competition Minister from Dandenong Market on Tuesday 24 May.
“I’m not allowed to have Snapchat or Instagram because, apparently, I’d make it uncool,” he said, walking through aisles of fresh fruit and veg.
“But now I’m walking through Dandenong Market with a selfie stick,” he said.
Inequality was the topic with tougher penalties for ripping off disadvantaged consumers the focus.
“One of the things that we see particularly for migrant communities is being the part of scams or rip-offs,” Mr Leigh said.
“A rip-off by a dodgy shonk is bad at any time, but when it happens to someone who’s on a six-figure income, it’s annoying; when it happens to a migrant who’s earning an annual wage of $20,000 it can be life-destroying.
“Labor’s policy requires the Consumer Commission to prioritise investigations involving migrant rip-offs and we’ll ramp up the penalties.
“If you’re ripping off disadvantaged consumers, you’ll be punished harder than any other kind of consumer rip-off.”
Mr Leigh said limited English skills made it harder for consumers to find the best deal.
“If you don’t have good access to the internet, it’s harder to find the best services,” he said.
“If you don’t have a car it’s hard to get to the cheapest store.
“Competition really matters, particularly for lower and middle-income Australians.”
Mr Hill said the tougher penalties would also have a deterrent effect over time.
He said that during recent doorknocking in Bruce, he’d heard many stories about people being ripped off by door-to-door electricity and real estate deals.
Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Competition Minister Andrew Leigh and Julian Hill chat.
