CANBERRA, Australia - Last night in the Australian parliament, opposition Liberal Party MP Joanna Gash questioned why the governments' Minister for small business has failed to act on the franchising inquiry report he received last year.

In a media release today, Mrs Gash is quoted:

"To date nothing has come out of Minister Emerson's office in response to the significant allegations raised through this inquiry, especially regarding the role of the ACCC."

The report released on the 1^st of December last year outlined recommendations to strengthen the Franchising Code of Conduct, which to date the Minister has chosen to ignore despite significant allegations raised in the industry.

Mrs Gash demanded the Minister show leadership on this issue and to "stop sitting on his hands and do something."

Mrs Gash also called on the Minister "to immediately issue the government's response to the inquiry and to establish a consultative and bipartisan working party to address the injustices that have been done to franchisees to prevent further injustices."

Read the Hansard here.