A draft report from the
Competition Policy Review Panel tackles issues including competition, trading
hour deregulation, liquor licensing rules, and the artificially high prices
paid by Australian consumers for some goods and services.
The leader of the panel, economist
Ian Harper, said - “Australia’s competition policy needs to be fit for purpose,
and updated for the economic opportunities and challenges Australia will face
in coming decades. We face forces for change from increased globalisation,
population ageing and new technologies, which are rapidly changing the way our
markets operate.”
Competition between
instore and online and within the grocery and pharmaceutical categories is a
focus of the report along with the abolishment of trading hour restrictions
with the exception of Christmas Day, Good Friday and Anzac Day mornings.
The draft report is open
for consultation before 17th November and then final submission in
March 2015.