The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Chris Pearce, has today decided that the Queensland third party access regime for natural gas pipeline services (the Queensland regime) is not an effective access regime under the National Access Regime.
The Queensland regime provides a legal avenue for third parties, such as gas retailers and industrial users, to seek access to gas pipeline services in Queensland covered by the regime.
Mr Pearce considered the Queensland regime’s consistency with the relevant principles set out in the Competition Principles Agreement for determining the effectiveness of state or territory access regimes. In doing so, Mr Pearce also took into account a finding by the National Competition Council (NCC) that there were deficiencies in relation to the regulatory processes concerning four major transmission pipelines in the State.
Based on these concerns, Mr Pearce concluded that the Queensland regime did not satisfy the relevant principles and was not an effective access regime.
‘The effect of my decision is that the status quo for the regulation of gas pipeline services in Queensland is maintained. This means that third parties continue to have the right, under the National Access Regime, to seek declaration of services covered by the Queensland regime. If a service is declared, parties to a dispute on access terms and conditions for the service may seek arbitration by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission,’ Mr Pearce said.
The NCC conducted extensive public consultations as part of its examination of the regime. MrPearce is satisfied that the consideration given by the NCC to submissions and to its recommendation was careful and comprehensive.
Background
State and Territory governments may submit their access regimes to the NCC for a recommendation that a regime is ‘effective’ under the National Access Regime (Part IIIA of the Trade Practices Act1974). A decision that a state or territory access regime is effective provides regulatory protection for services covered by the regime against the risk of declaration under the National Access Regime.
In September 1998, the Queensland Government applied to the NCC for a recommendation that its access regime for natural gas pipeline services was effective under the National Access Regime.
In February 2001, the NCC forwarded a recommendation to the Australian Government Minister but then withdrew it, after the then Minister advised that further submissions had been received on the matter. In February 2002, the NCC released a draft recommendation for comment and received further submissions.
On 25November2002, the NCC made a final recommendation to the then Minister that the Queensland regime not be certified as effective. On 6 January 2003, the then Minister publicly released the NCC’s final recommendation.
MELBOURNE
17 July 2006
Media contact: Gillian Harvey 03 9887 3890 or 0411 567 060