The AFR View
Competition case for merger shake-up is unconvincing
Giving the ACCC bureaucrats more power might just add more red tape costs for little return. It would be more productive to focus on the obvious competition black spots.
At least Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ merger law shake-up has rejected the “presumptive ban” demanded by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that would have reversed the onus of proof by requiring companies to prove that tie-ups would be unlikely to substantially lessen competition.
Yet Dr Chalmers’ proposed regime also adds more layers of regulatory red tape and rigmarole without a convincing evidence-based case for its central assertion that undesirable mergers have increased the market power of big companies, sapped the economy’s dynamism and explained why “Australia’s competitiveness has been declining since the 2000s”.
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