Fair Trading (Ticket Scalping) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 16 November 2017.)

Mr TRELOAR (Flinders) (10:42): This has been very topical of late.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are not the lead speaker, are you, member for Flinders?

Mr TRELOAR: No. Have we not had the lead speaker? No, I am not the lead speaker.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am just being asked questions. As far as I knew, it was the member for Mitchell and he has already spoken. That is right.

Mr TRELOAR: As I was saying, this has been very topical of late. It has recently resurfaced following the AFL finals in September last year and of course the upcoming Ashes test, which is beginning this coming Saturday. I think the Poms are already in town. There is much excitement around that, and tickets are much sought after.

It has been flagged that ticket scalping reform is imperative. Despite repeated media interest, no legislation that we have seen has been drafted to amend or to consider what is the biggest loophole under the current Major Events Act on the selling practices of ticket scalping websites, because technology is now impacting it. Once upon a time, you had to stand outside the gate and hopefully get a ticket for a few dollars more than the bloke prior to you had paid for it, but of course now with technology, eBay and the internet, it has become quite a big business.

The Attorney-General has avoided a specific response, but he did indicate that the government is awaiting a series of recommendations on the issue from Consumer and Business Services. Previously, we state Liberals were committed to a review of the Major Events Act and the introduction of legislation that would prevent people from selling tickets at a mark-up of more than 10 per cent of the market value, excluding booking fees and charges, without the need to declare an event a major event.

The issues that need to be addressed are: prohibition on ticket activity, providing affected parties with the right to commence proceedings against people using software to circumvent website security mechanisms and, as I mentioned earlier, prohibition on the resale of any sport or entertainment tickets above the original sale price of more than 10 per cent. There also needs to be a prohibition on the publication or hosting of an advertisement for ticket sales above the original ticket price—in other words, those inflated prices are not to be advertised—and a requirement that event organisers publicly disclose details of ticket allocations for public sale, so consumers know exactly how many tickets are available and how many tickets are sold.

We are trying to combat inflated ticket prices. It is almost invariably around major concerts and major sporting events. When visiting rock stars or the Ashes Test or the AFL finals are here is when we are looking to impact on the advantage that some Australians are prepared to take over others. I notice the lead speaker has arrived, so I will conclude my contribution.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. T.R. Kenyon.