Two independent MPs resign, Taxsmart faces court over misleading job ad, business satisfaction with big four banks lower than personal customers: Midday roundup

Independent MPs Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott have announced this morning they will not contest their seats at the September 14 election.

Windsor, who was the member for New England, was to have faced senior Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce. Oakeshott gives up his NSW seat of Lyne.

It is expected both seats will be picked up by National Party candidates come election time.

Taxsmart faces court over misleading job advert

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched legal proceedings against accounting firm Taxsmart.

Taxsmart is accused of false, misleading or deceptive conduct for misrepresenting terms of employment through its job advertisements.

The advertisements allegedly promoted a graduate program which allowed junior accountants to attain a tax agent licence from Taxsmart and operate a franchise after paying significant sums up-front.

The ACCC alleges the claims breached Australian Consumer Law.

ACCC deputy chair Michael Schaper says in a statement: “All employers, small or large, need to make accurate representations about the terms of employment and ensure they have a reasonable basis when making representations as to future expectations.”

Business satisfaction with big four banks lower than personal customers

Business customers are less satisfied with the big four banks than personal customers are, a Roy Morgan survey has shown.

The Business Single Source survey of 30,000 business decision-makers was released today and found the satisfaction of the big four banks’ customers was just 64%, while 50,000 personal customers surveyed had a higher approval rating of 79%.

The findings show a further slide in business customer satisfaction from last year’s results.

Australian shares surge

The Australian share market has had a positive start to the day with a surge of more than 1%, following a good day of trade overseas.

The S&P/ASX200 was up almost 1.7% to 4733.4 points just before midday. The upswing comes on the back of stocks rising on Wall Street and an announcement easing of fears of a credit crunch in China.

The Australian dollar is currently trading at US92.56 cents.