I have asked the Productivity Commission (PC) to undertake a review of Part X of the Trade Practices Act 1974 and report within six months.
Part X of the Trade Practices Act 1974 is the regulatory regime for international liner cargo shipping operations in Australia. It describes the conditions under which international liner cargo shipping operators are permitted to form conferences to provide joint liner shipping services for Australian exporters and importers.
The review was foreshadowed in the Commonwealth’s legislation review schedule, which forms one part of the Government’s commitment to national competition policy. In that context, I have asked the PC to report on the appropriate arrangements for regulation of international cargo shipping services, bearing in mind that regulation should be retained only if the benefits to the community as a whole outweigh the costs and if the objectives of the regulation cannot be achieved more efficiently through other means.
The PC will shortly release an issues paper and invite expressions of interest from parties wanting to participate in the review. I encourage all interested parties to make submissions to the Commission and to attend public hearings.
CANBERRA
12 March 1999
Contact Officers:
Matthew Guy
Assistant Treasurer’s Office
(02) 6277 7360
Tony Webster
Treasury
(02) 6263 3274
Lisa Gropp
Productivity Commission
(03) 9653 2392