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Stephen King, Monash University

Whatever happened to National Competition Policy?

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Remember the excitement?

• The access regime • The legislative reviews• The regulatory reform• The structural reform• The big picture – focusing on competition

So, what happened?

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3

Some early wins

• Explicitly separating out the regulators from the firm

• Deemed declarations in energy, telecommunications, rail

• Structural separation in some industries • Review of some anticompetitive provisions

in legislation• State and national infrastructure regulators.

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But…. Part IIIA

• “You can put lipstick on a pig. It’s still a pig”– Part IIIA has pretty much failed

– Doomed bit of legislation

– Slow process

– Legalistic interpretation of criteria that has lost the economics

Would we be better off without Part IIIA?

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5

Regulation – safe, solid, predictable

Scorecard: B+. Solid performance from AER. Could be more concise in decisions.

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Telecommunications

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Reducing the regulatory burden

• The PC keeps talking – but is anyone listening?

“Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce is in hot water again for saying the Federal Government can boost the economy by rebuilding houses burnt down under its botched home insulation program.

He also joked that he used Productivity Commission reports when he runs out of toilet paper.”

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A job half done

• QR, NSW electricity, water, …• New areas of regulatory interest:

– Media

– Banking / Financial services

– Health / Education / Transport

Will the next government ‘make our day’?