Bills

Enforcement of Judgments (Garnishee Orders) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Debate resumed.

Dr McFETRIDGE (Morphett) (11:04): Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I will speak particularly slowly for the lady signing over there. This bill, the Enforcement of Judgements (Garnishee Orders) Amendment Bill 2014, put up by the member for Hartley, is a good piece of legislation, a good proposal, and should be supported by this house.

I ran a very successful veterinary practice south of Adelaide for over 20 years. In fact, it basically covered the area of Fisher. In most cases, the good people of Fisher paid their bills promptly, and they were very willing to allow me to provide treatments and remedies for their pets to the best of my ability, because they were able to understand that there were significant costs involved and they also accepted their responsibilities.

I was one of the very few veterinary practices that did not refuse people if they could not afford to pay their bills. Unfortunately, it is a fact of life now that because of the financial pressures on a lot of small businesses, particularly veterinary practices, a lot of vets do not give credit. Nowadays, with credit cards, it is less of an issue for many, but for a considerable number of people unexpected expenses such as a vet bill, particularly those for pets suffering severe injuries arising from motor vehicle accidents and that sort of thing, can be very expensive.

To have to refuse treatment because the owner of the pet could not afford it was something I struggled with, but in most cases we were able to give people credit. There were some cases where obviously people could never afford to pay back the costs, and I just said to them, 'Look, I'm sorry; if I go broke, I won't be here to treat all the other thousands of people who rely on me at the moment,' and that was often heart wrenching. Collecting debts and making sure the business was able to operate was something that I, and I think every small business owner in South Australia, was aware of.

The systems that have been in place and the current system allow for people who have no intention of paying their debts, or who for some reason think their debt is extravagant or who somehow want to avoid paying their debts. The current system has benefited those people and enabled them to do what is both morally and ethically wrong. This particular piece of legislation adds another arm of defence and an opportunity for those who have offered a service—in my case, a veterinary service—to recoup the costs if that person does not pay the bill. It is not onerous; it is fair. It is a fair piece of legislation, and we all need to put people on notice that they cannot avoid their debts.

Once, I put up on my noticeboard in my practice a whole lot of bounced cheques and listed the people who had not paid their bills. I was told that was against the privacy regulation, and I could actually be sued for that now. I was willing to take that risk because those people owed me money and I wanted to get paid for the services I had given in good faith. This legislation will avoid people who are so frustrated by this, as I was, having to go down that path and possibly ending up in trouble themselves.

With regard to the need to be able to recoup your debts, there is an old saying in business that turnover is vanity, profit is sanity. You need to make a surplus, some profit, so that you can continue to expand the business, employ people and continue to deliver services. If you do not get paid, you cannot do that. What the member for Hartley has done is sensible and fairly straightforward even for me, as a humble veterinarian—and I am not a lawyer, and by saying that I am boasting not apologising—to understand what this is about.

I ask members in this place to look at it. I ask the government, particularly, to look at it, to assess it, and if they have issues with it then speak to the member for Hartley, so that small businesses in South Australia can be protected and go about their business with goodwill, as they all do, and receive their rightful fee, their rightful reward. I invite the government to look at this legislation, this proposal, and I hope that the house will support it.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Knoll.