Franchisee bill sets scene for Labor Senate showdown between O’Neill, Keneally

A private-members bill to give franchisees more rights has Deb O’Neill and Kristina Keneally on a collision course.

Senator Deb O'Neill, left, and opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally. Pictures: AAP/NCA Newswire

A private member’s bill, sponsored by opposition senator Deb O’Neill, that would give franchisees more rights has passed the Senate, putting pressure on Scott Morrison to allow a vote in the House of Representatives.

The passing of Senator O’Neill’s bill comes amid a push within the opposition to effectively dump the NSW Labor senator from the upper house of parliament.

Labor, the Greens and key crossbenchers backed Senator O’Neill’s bill that would increase fines for exploitative behaviour of franchisers from $133,000 to up to $10m.

The issue is part of Labor’s response to allegations General Motors mistreated Holden car dealers when the car giant announced it would leave the Australian market last year.

Car dealers and Coalition MPs were critical of Industry Minister Karen Andrews’s handling of the issue, and it has since been shifted into the responsibility of Employment Minister Michaelia Cash.

Supporters of Senator O’Neill, who is aligned to the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association, will use her advocacy of small business owners as part of their push to ensure she prevails against a challenge to her position on the Senate ticket by opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally.