PM Transcripts

PRIME MINMISTER J 96/ 93
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINSTER, THE HON P J KEATING, MP
NATIONAL COMPETITION POLICY REVIE W
The report of the National Competition Policy Review is being publicly released today.
The report argues for a consistent national approach to cormpetition policy and
proposes a range of mechanisms and new institutional structures to deal better with
anti-competitive conduct, unjustified regulatory restrictions on competition, the
structural reformn of public monopolies, third party access to essential facilities,
monopoly pricing and competitive neutrality.
I welcome the report and believe it to be an important contribution towards furthering
competition policy in Australia. I would likc to thank the members of the inquiry,
Professor Fred Hilmer, Mr G3eoffTTapcrell and Mr Mark Rayner for producing such a
high quality, broad ranging and challenging report
The report has been given to all Premiers and Chief Ministers and the Commonwealth
will be discussing the report in detail with State and Territory governments. Initially, a
Common wealth-State officials group will examine the report for the purpose or
providing a paper to assist discussion at a Council of Australian Governments meeting
late this year.
Competition policy is an important and integral element of the Commonwealth's
overall microeconomic reform agenda. We are already progressing with the States and
Territories on a number of reform initiatives in key sectors of the economy such as fair
and free trade in natural gas and a national electricity grid, which have major
competition policy dimensions. We will continue to pursue these initiatives
concurrently with our consideration of thc National Competition Policy Review report.
CANBRRA August 1993