The Growth and Revenue Implications of Hilmer and Related Reforms

Industry Commission Study

This study concluded with the completion of the report, The Growth and Revenue Implications of Hilmer and Related Reforms: A Report by the Industry Commission to the Council of Australian Governments, which was released in March 1995.

About the Study

The Industry Commission investigated the effect of economic growth and revenue of "Hilmer and related reforms" including where these reforms had already commenced. This included estimating:

the full and complete benefit to economic growth arising from the implementation by all jurisdictions of all the Hilmer and related reforms; and
the total revenue growth accruing to the Commonwealth, and the States and Territories and local govemment in aggregate arising from the benefit to economic growth from each set of contributions from the the Commonwealth, and the States and Territories and local govemment.

The Hilmer reforms encompassed the proposed national competition policy as submitted to the August 1994 Council of Australian Governments meeting, and included:

extending application of Part IV or the Trade Practices Act to all currently exempt sectors, including unincorporated businesses and State and Territory businesses within the shield of the Crown;
minor amendments to the Part IV provisions such as permitting the authorisation of resale price maintenance and price fixing agreements for goods and the repeal of the prohibition against anti-competitive price discrimination;
establishing a legal right to negotiate access to declared essential facilities on commercial terms;
extending the price notification provisions of the Prices Surveillance Act to State and Territory businesses;
governments applying the principles contained in the draft Competition Principles Agreement; and
application of the new competition arrangements being affected by transitional arrangements and the application of revised exemption mechanisms.

The related reforms included:

Electricity reform: the necessary changes to allow a competitive electricity market to commence from 1 July 1995 or as soon as possible thereafter;
Gas reform: the necessary changes to enable free and fair trade in naturral gas by 1 July 1996;
Water reform: A strategic framework to reform the water industry over the next 5 to 8 years, covering both urban and rural water supply;
Road Transport reform: the implementation, by 1 July 1996, of the package. of road transport reforms being progressed by the National Road Transport Commission;
Mutual Recognition: the implementation of the principles of mutual recognition for goods and occupations embodied in mutual recognition legislation and the associated Intergovernmental Agreement;
Review of Partially Registered Occupations: a national approach to the treatment of partially registered occupations (ie those occupations which are registered in some States and Territories but not others), based on the response of jurisdictions to the report of the Vocational Education, Employment and Training Advisory Committi-te (VEETAC); and
Ports: port reforms with the details to be indicated to the Commission by individual jurisdictions.