The Competition Policy Review Panel sought comment on the Competition Policy Review issues paper.
This submission responds to the promotion of competition and productivity in government business activities including Government-provided goods and services, particularly water. The issues paper asks what the competition policy reform priorities in the utilities sector should be. WSAA is keen to resolve the boundaries for competition in the urban water sector. WSAA agreed with the Productivity Commission’s assessment in 2011 that much of the urban water industry was not naturally competitive, and that reforms to market structure to promote competition should be subject to a cost/benefit test. In this context, WSAA suggested that establishing third party access regimes would not on its own be sufficient for competition to develop because there are not functioning upstream or downstream markets.