Housewarming

Read the room, Anthony, all five of them, including the two bathrooms

The Guardian today has a story about Labor’s plan to introduce legislation to curb unfair online trading practices, and to my way of thinking, it is one of the most important and consequential areas of legislation the government has tried to address.

What’s more they seem to be doing it in a not half-arsed way:

Anthony Albanese and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will on Wednesday announce plans to ban unfair trading practices under Australian consumer law, the latest consumer-focused competition and pricing changes proposed by the government and badged as cost-of-living relief.

“Hidden fees and traps are putting even more pressure on the cost of living and it needs to stop,” Albanese said.

The government said it would legislate “a general prohibition on unfair trading practices”, including “specific prohibitions of a range of dodgy practices”.

The Treasury will consult on the design of that scheme, but Chalmers’ office said areas to be addressed include “subscription traps”, which make it d…