The economics of privatisation are pretty simple. Moving a business from state-ownership to private-ownership improves the profit incentive. Private owners will focus on their return. That means lower…
- Professor of Economics, Monash University
Has there ever been a bigger policy mess than the NBN? The latest claims are that NBN Co risks breaching Australia’s consumer law on the grounds of misleading and deceptive conduct. So how did it get to…
The internet is an endless source of information. But who is liable if the information is wrong or, at least, misleading? Existing laws on publishing, information and privacy were not designed for the…
Expect a “tough love” budget from the federal government in two weeks. And expect lots of (pointless) debate about whether or not a levy is a tax. If, however, we cast our thoughts back to July last year…
Due to Australia’s small population and high concentration of few media voices, public broadcasters play a pivotal role in shaping the media ecosystem and cultural landscape. With the ABC and SBS under…
On Wednesday, the federal government announced the sale of Medibank Private. On Thursday, the government announced the membership of its competition review panel. Ironically, selling Medibank may finally…
Is the National Broadband Network sustainable? I do not mean this in a technical sense. While I am wary of the government using taxpayers’ money to ‘pick winners’ in technology, there are many people better…
The headline from today’s Qantas media conference should be simple: “Qantas attempts to rip off domestic customers and Australian taxpayers”. In the media conference today the CEO of Qantas, Alan Joyce…
Australia Post, and its predecessors, go back over 200 years. The first Australian postmaster began work in the colony of New South Wales in 1809. At federation, the colonial post offices were combined…
Australia’s cost of living is among the highest in the world, despite our low inflation rate. In this series we explore what consumers can expect from the big ticket items - petrol, power and groceries…
The “root and branch” review into Australian competition policy should be broad ranging. As the Monash Business Policy Forum noted, the review needs to go beyond the competition laws and consider how to…
The Government’s push to reform competition laws will continue next year with a review focusing on the key groceries, utilities and automotive fuel sectors. These are the sectors that most regularly affect…
When Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey quashed the acquisition of GrainCorp by Archer Daniels Midland on national interest grounds, his stated reasons were based on competition. Despite it being five years…
Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has rejected the proposed takeover of GrainCorp by US grain handling giant Archer Daniels Midland, arguing the takeover would not be in the public interest. Mr Hockey said…
Coles, Woolworths and the Food and Grocery Council have released a draft industry code of conduct to help govern their relationships with suppliers. The code will be “voluntary” under section 51AE of the…
Is there a ‘war’ between big and small business in Australia? Does small business need more protection in the market place? And, if so, is this a role for our competition laws? The Monash Business Policy…
The electricity ‘death spiral’ is raising considerable angst. Residential demand for power appears to be declining. This has led to higher prices to cover fixed network costs. The Australian Energy Market…
In a new twist in the long-running Australian petrol wars, Costco is preparing to join the discount petrol market. Sydney’s second Costco outlet, scheduled to open later this year, will reportedly sell…
There is a view that the major supermarket chains, Coles and Woolworths, can behave without restraint. Under this view the two retailers can act with impunity to sell whatever products they choose, regardless…
The interaction of competition policy and the digital economy is complex. The digital economy may not fit easily with current rules. For example, business contracts may restrict the way that one of the…
The Federal Court of Australia has brought down its decision in the ‘free to roam’ case. The Court has clarified that our consumer protection laws are about, well, consumers! Some background to the case…
“The Americans are screaming blue murder because WalMart and their competitor have now reached about 23% market share. Here we have two supermarkets with a market share of over 80%, so if they decide to…
In October 2008, at the height of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), the federal government decided to guarantee bank deposits. The ‘financial claims scheme’ (FCS), was an emergency measure to protect…
If there is a ‘root and branch’ review of competition laws after the next election, it should be led by a group of sexagenarians. That is, people aged at least sixty. Why? Because they will remember how…
The demise of Better Place, shows the difficulty of moving between idea and commercial success. In particular, it illustrates how ‘radical’ change can be defeated by the ‘chicken and egg’ problem. Better…
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