MEDIA RELEASE Wednesday, 19 November 2014 FAIR TRADING MINISTER REFUSES TO RELEASE OUTCOMES OF AUDIT REVIEW INTO USB CHARGER DEATH NOTIFICATION DELAY Shadow Minister for Fair Trading Tania Mihailuk today demanded that Fair Trading Minister Matthew Mason-Cox make public the outcomes of a recent audit review into Fair Trading’s processes for administering product safety warnings. The recent audit review into Fair Trading’s processes was undertaken following the significant delay in informing the public of the dangers of faulty USB chargers that had flooded the market in July this year. The late Sheryl Aldeguer, a young mother from the Central Coast, was tragically electrocuted by a faulty USB charger back in April – yet the Baird Liberal Government took more than two months to warn the public about the danger. In Parliament today, the NSW Opposition called on Fair Trading Minister Matthew Mason-Cox to make public the outcomes of the audit review, but Mr Mason-Cox bluntly refused. Ms Mihailuk said that there was a paramount public interest in the Baird Liberal Government making the report publically available. “Today we have witnessed the Baird Liberal Government shamefully hide the outcomes of an audit report into consumer safety behind a veil of secrecy. What do they have to hide?” Ms Mihailuk said. “The public has a right to know the circumstances that led to a two month delay in Fair Trading informing consumers that their safety was at a significant risk from dangerous USB chargers. “Mr Mason-Cox has shown that he is more interested in deflecting difficult questions, and cutting departmental staff, funding, and services, than enhancing consumer rights and protections.” Ms Mihailuk said that the Liberal Government’s budget cuts have left Fair Trading under-resourced and unable to proactively release consumer alerts. “We need Mike Baird and Matthew Mason-Cox to front-up and explain to consumers the real impact their $35 million budget cuts have had on Fair Trading’s ability to effectively monitor the marketplace for unsafe consumer products,” Ms Mihailuk said.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Nov 2014 22:16:09 +0000