Open letter from business organisations seeking urgent action on debit payments
Source: Pexels/Karolina Grabowska.
Ten industry associations representing Australian SMEs have come together to pen this open letter to the federal government, demanding urgent action be taken to avoid higher transaction costs for Australian retailers. The letter is in response to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) examining whether medium and smaller banks should be able to issue debits cards with one payment scheme on them, instead of two, such as Visa and eftpos.
Australia’s debit payments system is at a critical juncture, and we need urgent action so hundreds of thousands of businesses do not face the cost burden of higher transaction fees in-store and online.
10 business groups band together to seek urgent action on debit payments 25 June 2021
The Australasian Association of Convenience Stores, the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association, the Australian Lottery and Newsagents Association, the Australian Retailers Association, the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia, the Franchise Council of Australia, MGA Independent Retailers, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the National Retail Association and Restaurant and Catering have penned this open letter, seeking urgent action of debit payments.
Australia’s debit payments system is at a critical juncture, and we need urgent action so hundreds of thousands of businesses do not face the cost burden of higher transaction fees in-store and online.
Senators claim retail lobby group âmisledâ e-cigarette inquiry
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The National Retail Association has shrugged off claims that it misled the Senate inquiry into e-cigarettes, saying it is not legally required to disclose who funded its campaign that supported Philip Morrisâ position on vaping.
The NRA was the target of furious exchanges in the Senate as members of the Tobacco Harm Reduction inquiry cited revelations in
The Australian Financial Review that tobacco giant Philip Morris had secretly channelled money to fund the campaign to legalise vaping.
The National Retail Association says it is not legally required to reveal whether tobacco companies are funding its campaign to legalise e-cigarettes.Â
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By the evening of October 5, Liberal senator Hollie Hughes knew she had the numbers for her biggest political coup – the establishment of a Senate inquiry that she would chair into the e-cigarette industry.
After months of wrangling, she was ready to celebrate – over drinks with two British American Tobacco lobbyists.
“Oh we do love you @senator hollie,” Michael Kauter, the former deputy federal director of the Nationals, posted on social media that night last year alongside a photo of Hughes in a Canberra restaurant with her arm around him. Kauter’s husband, Professor David Gracey, was on Hughes’ other side. Gracey, who is a renal specialist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, is an adviser to Kauter’s lobbying firm.