Nick Xenophon says his threat to return to politics over a lawsuit involving ugg boots has had a cold reception from a Coalition Cabinet minister who has admitted “nobody wants him back”.
Key points:
- Nick Xenophon is part of a legal team representing an Australian ugg boot manufacturer
- He has called on the government to help the manufacturer secure an appeal in the US Supreme Court
- He said if the government did not provide its support he would consider a return to politics
The former South Australian senator said he would consider a return to politics if the government did not throw its support behind “Aussie battler” and Sydney ugg boot manufacturer Eddie Oygur.
Mr Oygur was sued over the sale of about a dozen products in the US by American company Deckers Outdoor Company, which owns the UGG brand and the trademark for ‘ugg’ in more than 130 countries, including the US.
Mr Oygur’s legal team is hoping for a chance to appeal in the US Supreme Court, arguing the term should never have been trademarked in the first place.
After flagging a return to politics over the weekend, Mr Xenophon told ABC Radio Adelaide he had received a call from a Cabinet minister, but would not specify who.
“I got a call from a Cabinet minister, who was not the attorney-general,” Mr Xenophon said.
“I don’t think either side wants me back there because you had one angry South Australian in the senate there for six years.”
Mr Xenophon said only one in 70 applications to appeal in the US Supreme Court are heard and having the government’s support “would make a huge difference”.
“If the Australian government says, ‘We as a friend of the court say this trademark belongs to Australia, it should never have been trademarked in the US’, then that would exponentially increase our chances of getting a run in the US Supreme Court,” he said.
“If we knock this out it’s not just about Eddie it’s about every ugg boot maker in this country and what it would do for sheepskin sales.
“The cost of Australia intervening and for assisting Eddie, it’ll probably be about $500,000, which sounds like a lot but when you consider the potential benefits to Australia, you would open up a multi-billion-dollar industry in this country and export market.”
Mr Xenophon said he had reached out to various members in the government and has now also appealed to the opposition.
He said he hoped he would not have to make a political comeback but that his threats were not empty.
“I don’t say something unless I mean it, but it’s more out of enormous frustration,” he said.
“I’m hoping it doesn’t happen, I’m hoping that they do the right thing, but I just don’t understand why our pollies can be so out of touch on an issue that is really a litmus test about the Aussie battler, about Aussie manufacturing and about giving someone a go,” he said.
Mr Xenophon said if he did return to politics, it would be as an independent.