Jim's Mowing boss delivers a challenge to Anthony Albanese as he blasts out-of-touch politicians: 'You don't know'

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:04, 5 July 2026 | Updated: 02:04, 5 July 2026 The Jim's Mowing owner has blasted politicians for being out of touch with small businesses and challenged Anthony Albanese to spend a day as a franchisee.  Jim Penman extended the invitation to the Prime Minister, saying franchisees carry enormous financial risk while often earning modest incomes, leaving them vulnerable when disputes arise with larger franchisors.  'You don't know the effects of what you're doing. You don't understand what a small franchisee actually is,' he told The Daily Telegraph. 'You don't know how they think. You don't know how much money they've got. You don't know anything about them.' Mr Penman has demanded an overhaul of Australia's franchising laws, claiming existing protections have failed to shield operators from unfair treatment. The Albanese government recently strengthened the Franchising Code of Conduct with new disclosure obligations and compensation requirements, but Mr Penman believes the reforms do not address the underlying problem. Instead, he wants the code scrapped and replaced with a public ratings system that would allow franchisees to anonymously assess their franchisors. Prospective operators could then review the feedback before investing, giving them greater insight into the businesses they are considering joining. Jim Penman criticised Anthony Albanese (pictured) for not understanding small business 'The point I'm making is that politicians, particularly on that (Labor) side of politics, do not understand small business at all,' Mr Penman said. Mr Penman argued transparency would do more to improve behaviour across the sector than additional regulation, with public scrutiny exposing poor-performing franchisors and rewarding those that treat operators fairly. He said many franchisees simply cannot afford to rely on the courts when disputes occur. 'The problem is legal action is very expensive. And I'm talking about franchisees who typically turn out maybe $150,000 a year,' Mr Penman said. 'They're not multi-millionaires. They're not people who can fund a massive court case.' The franchising veteran has become increasingly vocal about what he sees as an imbalance of power between large franchising networks and individual operators. His concerns intensified following allegations by some 7-Eleven franchisees that the company declined to renew their agreements before regaining control of the stores they ran.  7-Eleven has denied wrongdoing and said it operates within its franchise agreements and all relevant regulations. Jim Penman (pictured) has called for major overhaul of Australia's franchising laws Mr Penman is now taking his small-business campaign into politics. The 73-year-old will contest Melbourne's seat of Northcote for the Libertarian Party at November's Victorian election. He's said concerns about rising living costs, growing regulation and Victoria's business environment drove his decision to run. He argued the Allan Labor government has made it increasingly difficult for businesses to operate and grow.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.