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Challenging the notion of a consumer: Time for change
Citation
Griggs, L and Freilich, A and Webb, E, Challenging the notion of a consumer: Time for change, Competition and Consumer Law Journal, 19, (1) pp. 52-77. ISSN 1039-5598 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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Abstract
The passage through Parliament of the Trade Practices Amendment
(Australian Consumer Law) Bill (No 2) 2010 highlighted one issue that
remains unresolved. Just who is the consumer that is deserving of
protection? In seeking to find an answer to this, we look to the past and
highlight the etymological basis of the word 'consumer'. We then examine its
current legal definition and the problems associated with this. In doing this
we illustrate the comparative and interdisciplinary understanding of the
consumer. Our thesis is that attempting to find a single universal definition of
what it means to be a consumer is unlikely to yield a productive result.
Rather our solution is two fold. First, accept for the purposes of the
consumer guarantees that all transactions are consumer in nature and,
supplementary to this, make an argument for developing a unifying theme of
who the consumer is throughout the legislation. By doing this, we argue that
the conceptual confusion that currently exists as to when someone is a
consumer will be eliminated, and by establishing a unified concept
throughout the entire Competition and Consumer Act 2010, the opaqueness
that currently disguises who is the consumer will be swept away. To do this
provides the person known as the consumer with the special protection that
they deserve. To currently confuse and conflate only some business
transactions as consumer in origin only devalues the protection that we are
seeking to give a particular group of people or a particular set of
transactions.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | Trade Practices Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Bill (No 2) 2010, consumer, definition, protection, |
| Research Division: | Law and Legal Studies |
| Research Group: | Public law |
| Research Field: | Public law not elsewhere classified |
| Objective Division: | Law, Politics and Community Services |
| Objective Group: | Justice and the law |
| Objective Field: | Justice and the law not elsewhere classified |
| UTAS Author: | Griggs, L (Mr Lynden Griggs) |
| ID Code: | 74301 |
| Year Published: | 2011 |
| Deposited By: | Law |
| Deposited On: | 2011-11-18 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-11-21 |
| Downloads: | 3 View Download Statistics |
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