Bob Baldwin (Paterson, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources) Share this | Hansard source

Talk about one delivered on a platter! The member opposite, the member for Batman, has just said that their shareholders want to invest money in Australia—we love that; we do everything we can to encourage that—but they want to know that their investment is secure. So I would again put the statement to the chamber that the government cannot just change legislation, ad hoc, to suit individual cases without going through a proper process. I acknowledge that the task force has reported back to the government, but surely the member opposite can understand that the appropriate place to review the question of competition is the ACCC, because that is the reason that they were established in the first place. I do not have the authority or the detail to speak on the ACCC’s behalf—that comes under another portfolio—but I do know that it is pointless to set up independent bodies that are able to examine these issues in detail and then not let them do their job. We need to let them do their job and then take on board their outcomes.

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