The agricultural industries of Australia have been a cornerstone of the nation's economy. Their economic contribution comes largely from traditional industries such as wheat, sheep, sugar and beef. However, new agricultural industries also have the potential to make an important economic contribution to the prosperity of the sector, especially given the current rapid changes in...

On 15 October 2001, the Prime Minister announced that there would be an independent review of the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 and their administration. The Treasurer announced the terms of reference for the review and the membership of the review Committee on 9 May 2002. The Committee reported to the Government...

It is evident throughout this Paper that national competition policy, and micro-economic reform more generally, have created both winners and losers. One of the major problems is that, whilst the benefits of NCP are generally longer-term and spread more widely amongst the community, the costs of change are often concentrated in a particular area and...

The Productivity Commission was asked to examine the economic and social impact of competition policy and related infrastructure reforms introduced at the Commonwealth, State and local government levels, and to identify measures to increase the flow of benefits or mitigate any transitional costs arising from the implementation of competition reforms in rural and regional Australia.

Regional airlines can be a lifeline in remote parts of Australia. Competitiveness is an important issue in the regional aviation industry. Although regional aviation has undergone deregulation in most jurisdictions over the last decade, many single-operator routes still exist. The impact of deregulation on air services in regional Australia is an issue of interest to...