COMPETITION – LAW AND LEGISLATION – AUSTRALIA

New Hope blasts loophole for activists

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Brad Thompson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 23-Sep-19

New Hope Corporation’s CEO Shane Stephan has called for the abolition of laws that exempt environmental activists from penalties for engaging in secondary boycotts. He says it is not right that anti-coal activists can target suppliers to the mining industry with action that would otherwise be illegal under the Competition and Consumer Act. New Hope recently advised that 150 workers at its New Acland mine will be retrenched at the end of October. A proposed $900m expansion of the mine has been on hold for more than a decade.

CORPORATES
NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, WASHINGTON H SOUL PATTINSON AND COMPANY LIMITED – ASX SOL, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

ACCC seeks fines, jail for cartels

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Jan-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will ramp up its crackdown on cartel activity in 2018. Chairman Rod Sims expects the ACCC to launch criminal cartel proceedings against up to four Australian companies and their executives, although he has declined to identify them. Senior executives face massive fines and up to 10 years in jail for engaging in cartel activity. Meanwhile, Sims anticipates an increase in merger activity in 2018, particularly in the media sector in the wake of the Federal Government’s cross-media ownership reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, VISY INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NIPPON YUSEN KAISHA LINE, KAWASAKI KISEN KAISHA LIMITED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, CAMP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JAG, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, TATTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX TTS, AUSTRALIA. COMPETITION TRIBUNAL, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, AURIZON HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AZJ, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, SAPUTO INCORPORATED, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, ACCOR SA

Woolworths smashes ACCC on suppliers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 7 : 9-Dec-16

Federal Court judge David Yates agreed with Woolworths that the retailer’s "Mind the Gap" scheme was of "ordinary nature" of doing business. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission accused Woolworths of unconscionable conduct, but Justice Yates found that Woolworths did not contravene section 21 of the Australian Consumer Law. Australian Food & Grocery Council CEO Gary Dawson said the decision could lead to more companies requesting money from suppliers.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN FOOD AND GROCERY COUNCIL, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

PM’s focus budget and IR

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey, Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 15-Sep-16

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has identified the Federal Government’s key legislative priorities for the remainder of 2016. They include industrial relations reform, corporate tax cuts, superannuation tax reform and changes to competition law. Turnbull says he is "quietly confident" that the Senate will pass bills to reinstate the Australian Building & Construction Commission and establish the Registered Organisations Commission, and he may be open to compromise deals in order to ensure their passage.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Harper slams effects test critics

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 26-Jul-16

Professor Ian Harper has expressed his support for the introduction of the "effects test" into Section 46 of the Competition & Consumer Act. He has accused critics of the proposed new regulation of misrepresenting its nature. Harper strongly objects to describing the test as a form of protectionism and rejects such criticism as "wilful distortion."

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Big business takes hit to please Nats

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 13 : 17-Mar-16

The Federal Government has decided to introduce an "effects test" to competition law. The Business Council of Australia opposes the "effects test", but the new policy is supported by other organisations, including the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and the Australian Industry Group. Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder expressed his disappointment with the decision at "The Australian Financial Review" Business Summit.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Business v Barnaby in effects-test stoush

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 22-Feb-16

Australia’s new Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says the National Party favours making changes to competition law to introduce a so-called "effects test". However, many blue-chip companies oppose any move to introduce changes to the misuse of market power provisions in order to protect small businesses. They include Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Insurance Australia Group and Boral.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGK, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, IGA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

ACCC wants to curb oligopoly power

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 11-Jan-16

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims has urged the Federal Government to strengthen laws aimed at companies that abuse their market power. He advocates scrapping rules which require the competition regulator to prove that a company took advantage of its market power. He notes that large companies can use this defence by arguing that small business could do the same thing, even if they are not in a position to do so.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TYRO PAYMENTS, CLIFFORD CHANCE, APPLE INCORPORATED, BLACKBERRY LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UBER TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED, AIRBNB INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Bowen warns on effects test

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 22-Oct-15

The Australian Retailers Association, Master Grocers Australia and the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry are among the groups that support adding a so-called "effects" test to the Competition Act. However, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has told an audience of grocers that small businesses would face a huge legal bill if they pursue action under the effects test and fail. Master Grocers Australia CEO Jos de Bruin has dismissed Bowen’s comments as a "scare campaign".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, MASTER GROCERS’ AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN HOTELS ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Billson slams BCA ‘utter nonsense’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Aug-15

The Australian Government’s cabinet ministers have endorsed a proposal to add a so-called "effects test" to the Competition and Consumer Act. The reform was one of 56 recommendations made by the Harper review of competition laws, and is supported by the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry. However, the Business Council of Australia maintains that an effects test would adversely affect competition and make companies more vulnerable to litigation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, THE AVALON, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY