The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, the Hon David Bradbury MP, has certified the Queensland Rail Access Regime (QRAR) as an 'effective access regime' under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) for a period of 10 years.
The Queensland Premier applied for certification of the Regime on 17 June 2010. The National Competition Council (NCC) then considered the application via a public consultation process.
The NCC provided its final recommendation to the Government on 22 November 2010. Accordingly, the decision has been made within the 60 day statutory deadline, which expires on 21 January 2011, set out in the CCA.
The QRAR provides a platform for access to key rail infrastructure services in Queensland. The QRAR is based on the Queensland Competition Authority Act 1997 (Qld), and applies to significant rail infrastructure like the Central Queensland Coal Network.
Certification of an access regime as 'effective' recognises that the regime applies certain agreed principles for regulating access. This certification process ensures a nationally-consistent approach to regulating access to significant infrastructure, and avoids duplication between State and Commonwealth regulation.
'Having considered the evidence presented, and the report of the National Competition Council, I agree with the Council's finding that all relevant matters for certification have been satisfied,' Mr Bradbury said. 'My decision to certify the QRAR for a period of 10 years will provide regulatory certainty to those doing business on Queensland's key railways and will give businesses greater certainty as they look to invest in Queensland, beyond this month's devastating floods.'
The certification of the QRAR is part of a broader Council of Australian Governments reform where all State and Territory infrastructure access regimes must be submitted to the National Competition Council (NCC) for certification.
A copy of the certification and statement of reasons is available on the NCC website, www.ncc.gov.au.
20 January 2011