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Other Parliamentary SpeechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches during parliament that do not fall under Questions or Questions without notice. They range from debating legislation, reporting on events or issues in his seat of Southport and his Ministerial Statements.
Retail Shop Leases Amendment Bill |
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| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Feb 20 2006 |
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Mr LAWLOR (Southport-ALP) (12.11 pm): February 16 2006
I am happy to support the Retail Shop Leases Amendment Bill. The Beattie government is committed to small business in Queensland. Although Queensland is Australia's economic engine room, it could be said that it is our small-business community that is driving the Queensland economy. In fact, small business represents 96.5 per cent of all Queensland businesses and employs 50.2 per cent of all private sector workers. The Beattie 222 Retail Shop Leases Amendment Bill 16 Feb 2006 government recognises the significant contribution of the small-business sector and is committed to encouraging and promoting growth of this sector and to attracting more small businesses to Queensland.
Small business in the electorate of Southport is a huge contributor to the Gold Coast economy. Southport is, in fact, the business centre of the Gold Coast. The majority of the growth of most regions will come from its small-business base.I ran my own small business in Southport for 20 years and my father had a small business for about 40 years.
The amendments to the Retail Shop Leases Act 1994 provide enhanced requirements for the lessor's disclosure obligations and, therefore, more protection both for lessees and lessors. In accordance with the existing provisions, the lessor is required to provide a disclosure statement and draft lease seven days before the lessee enters into the lease.The lessee can terminate the lease within six months if the lessor does not provide the disclosure statement or makes a false or misleading statement. In addition, the lessor is liable for compensation for loss or damage.
Further provisions add that where a lessor has provided a defective statement the lessee cannot terminate the lease if the lessor acted honestly and reasonably and the lessee is not disadvantaged because of the defective statement. In addition, an amendment provides for major lessees-that is, those lessees with five or more retail businesses in Australia, and that would normally cover situations such as franchises because, obviously, they are fairly experienced in entering into leases-to waive the requirement for the lessor's disclosure statement to be provided seven days before entering into the retail shop lease. That would allow an experienced lessee to act expeditiously to acquire a competitive retail site without delay.
Additional disclosure provisions introduce a mandatory requirement for a lessee or assignee to give a disclosure statement to a lessor.These are important steps to ensure that all parties enter into a lease more fully informed. So the legislation works both ways: for the protection of the lessee and also for the protection of the lessor.
An important step prior to entering into a retail shop lease is for the lessee to obtain financial and legal advice reports.This enables the lessee to ensure their business plan and the draft lease for the premises are appropriate for their current business circumstances.
The bill contains important provisions for parties to a retail shop lease in relation to when compensation is payable by the lessor. New section 43A provides when compensation is payable by other parties. That applies in regard to a false or misleading statement in the lessee's, assignor's or assignee's disclosure statement. If the lessor suffers a loss as a result of the false or misleading statement the lessee is liable to pay reasonable compensation.
The amendment bill contains four new sections relating to demolition. New section 46H sets out the implied provisions if a retail shop lease contains a demolition clause. The steps for the lessor to take to terminate the lease are also set out.This requires a written notice to be issued six months prior, which provides information on the details of the proposed demolition and the date the lease ends. The conditions for the lessee to give a written notice of termination are also set out. Additionally, the lessor is required to pay reasonable compensation to the lessee if there is not a genuine proposal to undertake demolition within a reasonable time frame. There is also a provision relating to the amount of compensation, where there is no agreement, to be decided under the dispute resolution mechanisms of the legislation.
The bill also contains new provisions relating to costs and the payment of costs if an offer to settle is rejected. This new section applies to costs for direction hearings and tribunal hearings. In the normal course of events, each party must bear their own costs unless an order for costs is made. An order for costs can made against a party in the following circumstances: if the dispute is frivolous or vexatious, if a party has incurred costs because of a failure to attend a mediation conference, if a party has failed to
give adequate notice when seeking to adjourn a hearing, if a party has failed to comply with a direction or requirement of the tribunal, or if a party has sought the inclusion of another party. New section 91A, which relates to the payment of costs if an offer to settle is rejected, allows parties to make a formal offer of settlement and for the tribunal to have powers to consider a costs order against a party which fails to accept a reasonable formal offer.
These provisions have been adopted successfully in other Queensland jurisdictions and will encourage the early resolution of disputes. In fact, they work extremely well in situations mainly to do with personal injury cases in both the Supreme and District courts. If a party does not meet the formal offer of settlement, then the costs order may well be given against them.I commend the bill to the house. Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 11:38 AM
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