Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer advise the House of the importance of microeconomic reform to support economic growth and jobs in our transitioning economy? How is the government's response to the Competition Policy Review helping to improve the quality of service delivery to customers and provide greater choice for consumers?

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remind the House again that it is very difficult to hear the question if members are interjecting. I treat that as highly disorderly. I am warning members on my left that I just managed to hear aspects of the question.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Gilmore for her question and her keen interest in areas of competition policy. She understands how competition policy can transform issues for small business in her electorate. We know that, with the terms of trade returning to the long run average, it is more important than ever to drive productivity to support economic growth particularly as we move through the transitioning of our economy. This is the most important economic challenge facing the country—we have to support the positive transition that is occurring in our economy. A key mechanism to drive productivity growth in our economy is of course support for competition. Competition policy, supporting greater competition in our economy, is the way that you can drive productivity and drive innovation. That is exactly what this government has been doing as we have initiated the competition policy review and, more importantly, in responding to the competition policy review we are now moving to implement the recommendations of the Harper review.

In November of last year this government announced our response to the Harper review, and we responded to 44 of the 56 recommendations. Today we have responded to the 45th recommendation. We have responded to the recommendation and we will proceed down the path of implementing recommendation 30 of that report, as the Prime Minister mentioned before, and that is to put the effects test into section 46, to put the lessening competition test into section 46, and remove the take advantage provision. This makes competition policy about the competitive process. It is not about any one competitor or any one business; it is about the consumer. We are focused on the right outcomes for the consumer because we know that when the consumer has greater choice, whether they want to choose their own superannuation fund, for example, to put their money in, or whatever the choice is, the economy will be better off.

The reforms we have announced today in response to the Harper review go to that very point. And that is not the only one that we have adopted from the Harper review. There are some 44 other recommendations, which include going down this path—as governments have done in previous times—and we remember the Hilmer reforms that increased GDP in this country by 2½ per cent. We are going down a Hilmer mark 2 path, and this is something I would hope those opposite would support. They should understand that better competition policy, which drives the innovative process and productivity process and which support jobs and growth, is what is necessary for our economy. The Prime Minister and I and other ministers are engaging with states and territories on how that competition policy process will be realised. We have strong support to go down this path from them because they understand that this is what is necessary to drive jobs and growth in this transitioning economy. Those opposite may choose to join but I doubt they will. (Time expired)