Newsroom

September 8, 2023

WITH out-of-pocket labourers and mum and dad businesses “up against the wall” due to alleged corporate wrong doing in North Queensland, Katter’s Australian Party MP Bob Katter says the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill “doesn’t go far enough” after proposing his own amendments.

Mr Katter has witnessed several counts of company directors leaving their workers and creditors out of pocket in North Queensland, with little to no subsequent action taken from corporate oversight bodies such as the Australian Tax Office or ASIC.

He is now calling on the government to overhaul corporate regulation and adopt the following additional principles in its Closing Loopholes Bill, which allows the Fair Work Commission to target wage theft, including:

(a) Removing corporate oversight from the ATO and ASIC:

(b)  Placing corporate oversight with the Fair Work Commission or a similar “oversight and enforcement” body, and;

(c) Providing this oversight and enforcement body with the resources, accountability and powers to adequately protect employees and contractors, subcontractors and suppliers from corporate wrong doing.

Multiple Australian businesses including transport operators and farmers are collectively out of pocket for more than $10m following alleged misconduct from a company now in receivership, while in another case, over 250 North Queensland miners are owed years of superannuation, annual leave and millions in wages, sparking calls for a “corporate regulation” overhaul.

Mr Katter said every time a company defaulted, which included two serious examples in the last six months, his calls for government intervention to protect employees and creditors had fallen on deaf ears, and recently he had been advised by the Treasurer’s office that it had minimal influence over the ATO and the country’s corporate regulator – ASIC.

In one recent example, Mr Katter was alerted by North Queensland-based major trucking company Blenners Transport of the alleged misconduct of now defunct Aussie Frozen Food Pty Ltd, which has left a credit trail throughout the country’s east coast.

It is understood Victorian-based Aussie Frozen Food allegedly made deals as an agent between growers throughout the east coast and wholesalers to transport and sell produce, but failed to pay any invoices.

Blenners Transport, an unsecured creditor is owned more than $270,000 while a Townsville mango grower it moved produce for, is owed more than $622,000. On May 12, KordaMentha was appointed as the liquidator following a joint submission by Blenners and fellow creditor Chep Australia, to a Queensland Supreme Court, to have the company “wound up.”

Blenners Transport chief executive Les Blennerhassett said while it was highly unlikely he would receive any compensation through the liquidation process, he was determined to pursue action against Aussie Frozen Food’s former director, who resigned just days prior to the wind up.

Mr Blennerhassett has filed a report of misconduct with ASIC, but said he was sceptical of an outcome.

“We saw this guy (the former director) had been involved in more than 250 office holdings in a similar number of companies, serious concerns have to be raised ,” Mr Blennerhassett said.

“His company goes bust and a few days prior, he resigns. He needs to be held accountable and stopped.

“The government and ASIC need to get more proactive here and stop guys like him from just starting another company. The liquidator has indicated ‘ASIC do nothing’.

“Businesses like ours need a Government that will investigate and prosecute directors like this and hold them to account.”

Mr Blennerhassett said he understood the company’s failed business model involved buying produce, primarily mangoes from growers with the lure of major supermarket connections, yet storing the fruit at its Victorian warehouse, failing to make sales and subsequently pay its suppliers.

Mr Katter said he too had little faith in ASIC’s action, with multiple incidents of company directors establishing countless businesses in his electorate, to only to fail and leave behind financial devastation.

The North Queensland MP has raised with the issue with the Federal Treasurer and Finance Minister, urging them to work with ASIC and properly investigate the conduct of the company’s former director.

 

Below is Mr Katter’s proposed amendments to the Closing Loopholes Bill:

 

Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 

(Mr Katter) whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House: 

(1) notes that in 2001 a far North Queensland sugar mill was sold by a bank and receivers at allegedly an unvalued asset price, leaving millions owing in original farmer shareholders;

(2) notes that despite continuous calls for ASIC investigation, the only accountability came through civil proceedings successfully brought on by affected farmers;

(3) notes that in 2012 a mine in far North Queensland collapsed placing 450 people out of work and leaving millions owing in wages and entitlements and to contractors, subcontractors and suppliers;

(4) notes that in July 2023 another mine in far North Queensland collapsed placing 250 people out of work and leaving millions owing in wages and entitlements and to contractors, subcontractors and suppliers;

(5) notes that both mining companies had the same director prior to collapse and complaints made to the ATO about unpaid super for the 2nd company date back to September 2021 nearly 2 years before the collapse;

(6) notes that in March 2023 a transport/wholesale fruit company collapsed leaving millions owing to transport and farming entities across Australia;

(7) notes that the director of this company, who resigned days before the collapse, has approx. 285 office holdings in various other companies and is the subject of a number of ASIC complaints;

(8) notes that workers and contractors, subcontractors and suppliers cannot be adequate protected by regulation alone and we must have improved oversight and enforcement;

(9) notes that ASIC and the ATO either are ill-equipped or otherwise unwilling or unable to fulfill the role of a tough and accountable enforcer of companies and their officeholders; and

(10) calls on the government to: 

(a) remove corporate oversight from the ATO and ASIC;

(b) place corporate oversight with the Fair Work Commission or a similar “oversight and enforcement” body; and

(c) provide this “oversight and enforcement” body with the resources, accountability and powers to adequately protect employees and contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers from corporate wrong doings.