Labor welcomes the news that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has been honoured with an international award from the World Bank and the International Competition Network.
The award recognizes the Commission for its role in making competition policy a key part of Australia’s economic agenda.
Which begs the following question….considering the Commission is working with one regulatory arm tied behind its back, imagine the honours with which it would have been showered had it the powers Labor proposed before the 2016 election?
Labor’s policies would have allowed the Commission to directly address market power and anti-competitive behavior by;
- increasing the penalty for breaching the Australian Consumer Law to $10 million,
- using some of the revenues from these increased penalties to double the Commission’s litigation budget, and
- giving the Commission a market studies function so it could examine the competition and consumer protection challenges in particular markets.
Labor believes strong competition laws overseen by a strong regulator are at the heart of driving economic growth and fairness in Australia, and will help consumers, raise productivity and boost living standards.
THURSDAY, 23 MARCH 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: TAIMUS WERNER-GIBBINGS 0437 320 393
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