Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am addressing amendment (40), which is headed: 'Clause 37A Authorisation of conduct for the purposes of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010'. The question I am suggesting the House ought consider very carefully as it considers whether or not it is a good idea to pass this amendment is whether it is a good idea to grant such an authorisation. Let us be very clear about this. The effect of such an authorisation is that conduct which would otherwise be illegal under the Competition and Consumer Act as a breach of provisions dealing with, for example, restraint of trade or anti-competitive agreements between competitors is specifically authorised by this provision. The question that that requires the House to consider is whether the detriment to competition, which is clearly admitted by the fact that the government has thought it necessary to include this amendment in the bill, is justified by the claimed benefit, which we are told has something to do with safety but which, upon analysis, is in fact a set of measures designed to extend the reach of the industrial regulatory apparatus which this government has been so enthusiastically expanding, measures which are going to make it harder for ordinary business people to get on and do their job.

See this speech in context