Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Hansard source

Given Senator Pocock's revelation—and the Senate chamber thanks Senator Pocock for the revelation, and I'm sure those of us that watch ACCC matters very closely will be on the internet waiting, waiting, waiting—perhaps the government might like to take a question in question time to confirm what Senator David Pocock has released.

Let's go back through the last 23 days. We still don't know, Senator Pocock—through you, Chair: does the regime begin at the period at which the last regime ended or is there a monitoring black hole that will soon be detailed?

On 18 October, the Albanese government announced by media release it would reinstate the monitoring for three years, commencing before the end of the year. 'Before the end of the year' is what the media statement said. So we might get the direction today, but it might still begin at some future point.

During Senate estimates on 20 October, both Minister Gallagher and Treasury officials confirmed the direction from the Treasurer to the ACCC to commence the monitoring had still not been initiated. We know that, and now we know that it's going to happen today. On the details of that we're still unsure. We wait anxiously. In the same estimates hearing, Minister Gallagher and Treasury officials noted that the ACCC would require time to prepare for the monitoring to begin, but the ACCC chair herself refuted this, confirming that the ACCC has maintained its monitoring team and is ready to begin the monitoring immediately. So again I say: why have we been waiting? Why have consumers not been protected? The ACCC chair went on to say that the ACCC was able to run the monitoring program from when the previous regime ended on 30 June 2023 without a gap. I wait with great interest. Will we see the direction today? What are the terms and conditions under which the monitoring regime will begin? And the question still remains: why did we have to wait? I'm prepared to take Senator David Pocock's admission this morning that it will happen today, but I don't trust that the government will deliver on its commitment to Senator David Pocock. We wait anxiously.

If the government can be dragged kicking and screaming to reinstating the ACCC monitoring regime, I'm putting the government on notice now that the coalition will bring forward consumer protections to the parliament in the next six months if the Labor government can't or if the Labor government won't. I'm putting them on notice, because the consumer protection piece is an important piece that is also raised in that final ACCC monitoring regime report. If it takes private senator's bills, I'm not opposed to bringing them to the parliament. Neither is Senator McKenzie. If aviation sector reform and improvements for consumers are going to happen only if the coalition brings private senator's bills to the Senate, then, with Senator McKenzie, I'm happy to do that. The coalition is happy to lead where the government will not on aviation competition reforms that protect consumer interests.

What a revelation. For a rather dry piece of competition policy—an ACCC monitoring regime—this has been a very colourful morning, a very interesting morning, already. It is a small thing. It should not have taken this long, but it did, so let's just let the government get on with it. Bring the direction forward, so that Senator McKenzie and I can go away and work on the next private senator's bill that will improve consumer protections. Senator Pocock and Senator McKim, we hope you might be inclined to support that bill when it comes to the parliament or at least to get a better deal out of the government.