PRICE REGULATION – AUSTRALIA

Bunnings boss rejects gouging claim

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Original article by James Thomson, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 17-Sep-24

National Party senator Ross Cadell has reiterated his view that the pricing policies of so-called ‘big-box’ retailers such as Bunnings should be scrutinised by a parliamentary inquiry. However, Bunnings MD Mike Schneider has responded to suggestions that the hardware giant may have engaged in price gouging and abused its market power. He notes the company’s long-running ‘lowest prices are just the beginning’ advertising slogan, arguing that Bunnings puts a lot of work and capital into ensuring that it lives up to this claim.

CORPORATES
BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ACCC must probe food giants on prices: Fels

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 23-Jan-24

Former Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Allan Fels has urged the ACCC to conduct a major inquiry into competition and prices in the retail food and grocery industry. Fels recently conducted an ACTU-sponsored inquiry into price gouging, with Fels claiming that supermarkets are not being transparent about the price history of displayed items and their "correlated discounts". While supporting the appointment of former trade minister Craig Emerson to conduct a review of the food and grocery code, Fels says the voluntary code should be made mandatory.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Supermarkets warned on pricing

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Jan-24

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says it could potentially take legal action against a major supermarket chain in the next 12 months for breaching consumer law. Although the ACCC does not have price monitoring powers when it comes to supermarkets, it does have a role in investigating misleading and deceptive conduct. Cass-Gottlieb noted that the ACCC is concerned about the issue of ‘was, now pricing’, whereby chains offer a discount on an item, but may have engaged in deceptive behaviour by increasing the price of the item for a short time beforehand.

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ACCC caps pricing for NBN competitors

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 10-Jan-17

The competition regulator has released a draft decision on the prices that retail broadband ISPs can charge wholesale customer for using their networks. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has capped the aggregation charge at $A15.25 per megabit per second per month. ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the wholesale prices are likely to fall over time to reflect growth in traffic in superfast broadband.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC, NBN CO LIMITED

New Telstra CEO’s threat over prices

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 15 : 14-Oct-15

Telstra CEO Andy Penn says earnings could be reduced by up to $A80m in fiscal 2016 due to an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission ruling that its wholesale prices should be cut by 9.4 per cent. Penn has also warned that the telco may be forced to reduce its investment in telecommunications infrastructure as a result of the decision. Meanwhile, more than 11 per cent of votes cast at Telstra’s AGM rejected the remuneration report, compared with less than two per cent in 2014.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES AND SECURITIES COMMISSION, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, OVUM RESEARCH, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Glencore baulks over port prices

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins, Matthew Stevens
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 &28 : 14-May-15

Mining giant Glencore wants Australia’s National Competition Council to take action over a rise in shipping fees at the Port of Newcastle. It claims that navigation service charges for some ships have increased by around 60 per cent since the port was privatised in 2014. Glencore is pushing for the port to be "declared" under competition laws. There have also been demands for the Port of Melbourne to be regulated.

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COMPETITION COUNCIL, PORT OF NEWCASTLE, PORT OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, HASTINGS FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, CHINA MERCHANTS GROUP, PORT KEMBLA, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, DP WORLD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WALLENIUS WILHELMSEN LOGISTICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Petrol chains gouge country motorists

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 15-Jan-15

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will investigate allegations that the cost of petrol remains much higher in regional and rural areas than in metropolitan regions. The average price of unleaded petrol is currently around $A1.197 per litre in the five main capital cities. However, motorists in regional cities and towns are paying between $A0.18 and $A0.44 per litre more. This includes Canberra and Hobart

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM LIMITED, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, INFORMED SOURCES PTY LTD

ACCC chases carbon levies

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Joanna Heath
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 30-Jul-14

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) will crack down on about 120 organisations that fail to recompense consumers following the abolition of the carbon tax. This includes companies such as airlines and waste management groups, as well as local councils. They had generally increased prices when the tax was introduced, and the ACCC is concerned that they may try to avoid passing on savings to consumers now that tax has been scrapped

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, AUSTRALIAN LANDFILL OWNERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED, VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Gas distributor signals price reductions ahead

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Original article by Anthony Klan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 30-Jun-14

Gas distributor Jemena plans to reduce prices to 1.2 million homes in New South Wales. On 30 June 2014, Jemena will lodge its access agreement with the Australian Energy Regulator. It intends to cut distribution prices by up to 20 per cent in real terms for the five years from 1 July 2015. Jemena said that it is able to lower its prices because of lower debt costs and improved productivity. It wants access to more customers in the state

CORPORATES
JEMENA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR