WA Franchisor attempting to throw Master Franchise under the bus

[Target]

The Franchisor is being sued by Australia's biggest online and hard copy phone directory for non payment of Agreed annual advertising.
The Franchisor has been trying to pay but has not been receiving invoices and has reams of email documentation to support this.
The Franchisor, as a first attempt to negotiate out of trouble is trying to have the case redirected to the State Master Franchise.
Part of the state master franchisee role is to organise state wide advertising.
The master franchisee signed the Agreement, however, the Franchisor is mentioned as the Credit Manager. The master franchisee has no access to the account or any responsibility for the management of the account.
The Franchisor collects the agreed contributions from the Franchisee's by monthly direct debit and continues to do so.
The Advertising Company has cancelled the advertising which results in lost revenue to the Franchisee's

The question - Is it appropriate for the master franchise to contact the complainant and let them know the above?

 

[Rod]

Is it appropriate for the master franchise to contact the complainant and let them know the above?

There are multiple issues in your post but in relation to your specific question, you need to go back to the original agreement with the supplier. As the Master Franchisee signed the agreement they would have every right to talk to the supplier about the account.