The ANU Crawford School hosted an excellent forum on Friday, mostly a retrospective from key players in the 1995 Hilmer competition reforms, but also with some interesting insights into competition policy design and work left to do for the Abbott Government's new review.
Rod Sims talked about what the Abbott Government's proposed review of competition policy should focus on, and what can be learnt from the Hilmer reforms.
Some lessons learned:
Rod Sims talked about what the Abbott Government's proposed review of competition policy should focus on, and what can be learnt from the Hilmer reforms.
Some lessons learned:
- prepare the ground well before proceeding with reform
- pursue reform on a broad front
- bring high level politcal drive and constant attention
- provide financial incentives for reform
- get industry structures right
- avoid seeking “national champions”
- privatise for competition and efficiency, not for maximum sale proceeds
- remember that deregulation does not mean no regulation
Some emerging concerns:
- focus on need for “national champions”
- too many privatisations focussed on maximum sale proceeds
- some simplicity in approach to deregulation–“regulation simply adds costs”
- the “low hanging reform fruit” has gone
Reform options (equally “low hanging fruit”):
- free up coastal shipping
- remove cartel exemptions from liner shipping
- corporatise road agencies
- move from PAYGO to forward looking pricing
- fix road user chargers; improve modal choice signals
- consider congestion pricing for roads, ports
- reduce competition and regulatory impediments in higher education
- complete rural water market
- provide market signals in urban water; allow rural/urban trade
- rationalise energy market regulations and schemes
- CCA–facilitating practices, Section 46, …
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