Abstract
The Australian Trade Practices Act 1974 is a court-centered law of the American type. After 20 years it has much to its credit — the abandonment of cartelization and the achievement of a coherent body of antitrust law focused upon market power as the central concept. The law has some distinctive features: the approach to market definition; the possibility of authorization on grounds of public benefit; the treatment of verticals. The challenge now is to expose the exempt sectors to the Act and to design a compatible regime for the corporatized and privatized utilities.
An early version of this paper was presented at the Trade Practices & Consumer Law Conference, Terrigal, October 1991.1 thank the convenor and participants for their stimulus. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the helpful discussions I have had with David Merrett on historical aspects. He will see that there is plenty left for him to do! I thank Frances Hanks and Philip Williams for helpful comments on the draft of this paper, and I should particularly like to thank the Special Editor for his detailed and constructive comments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Areeda, Phillip E., and Herbert Hovenkamp (1993) Antitrust Law (Supplement), Boston, Little, Brown.
Australia, Statements by Prime Minister, Treasurer and Industry Minister (1991) Building a Competitive Australia, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service.
Australia, Submissions to Australian Cabinet on Restrictive Trade Practices and Monopolies (1963), Submission 994, Vol. 26, Canberra, Australian Archives Office.
Australian Proposals for Legislation for the Control of Restrictive Trade Practices and Monopolies (1963) “Tables of Trade Practices”, Canberra, Commonwealth Government Printer.
Bannerman, R.M. (1984) ‘Points from Experience 1967–1984’, in Trade Practices Commission, Annual Report 1983–84, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service.
Bannerman, R.M. (1987) ‘The Importance of the Trade Practices Tribunal: Does It Have a Future?’ Australian Business Law Review, 15, 383–437.
Barwick, Sir Garfield (1961) ‘Some Aspects of Australian Proposals for Legislation for the Control of Restrictive Trade Practices and Monopolies,’ 13th Legal Convention of the Law Council of Australia, Australian Law Journal, 36, 363–384.
Barwick, Sir Garfield (1962) Speech to the Australian Parliament, delivered by the Acting Attorney General, the Hon. G. Freeth, Parliamentary Debates, 6 December 1962.
Barwick, Sir Garfield (1963a) ‘Trade Practices in a Developing Economy’, The G. L. Wood Memorial Lecture for 1963, Canberra, Commonwealth Government Printer.
Barwick, Sir Garfield (1963b) ‘Administrative Features of Legislation on Restrictive Trade Practices’, The Sir Robert Garran Oration for 1963, Mimeo.
Brunt, Maureen (1965) ‘Legislation in Search of an Objective’, Economic Record, 41, 357–386.
Brunt, Maureen (1975) ‘Economic Overview,’ mimeo, Lecture Number 11 in Monash Trade Practices Lectures, Melbourne, copy held in Monash University Law Library.
Brunt, Maureen (1990) ‘The Role of Private Actions in Australian Restrictive Practices Enforcement’, Melbourne University Law Review, 17, 582–613.
Brunt, Maureen (1993) ‘Australian and New Zealand Competition Law and Policy’, in Barry Hawk (ed.), 1992 Fordham Corporate Law Institute, Irvington-on-Hudson, NY, Transnational Juris Publications/GA Deventer, The Netherlands, Kluwer.
Caves, R.E., and M.E. Porter (1977) ‘From Entry Barriers to Mobility Barriers’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 91, 241–261.
Comanor, William S., and Lawrence J. White (1992) ‘Market Power or Efficiency: A Review of Antitrust Standards’, Review of Industrial Organization, 7, 105–116.
Department of the Treasury (1993) Treasury Submission to the National Competition Policy Review, Treasury Economic Paper Number 16, Canberra, Commonwealth Government Printer.
Easterbrook, F.H. (1984) ‘The Limits of Antitrust’, Texas Law Review, 63, 1–40.
Fisher, Franklin M. (1987) ‘Horizontal Mergers: Triage and Treatment,’ Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1, 23–40.
Fornalczyk, Anna (1993) ‘Competition Policy During Transformation of a Centrally Planned Economy’ in Barry Hawk (ed.) 1992 Fordham Corporate Law Institute, Irvington-on-Hudson, NY, Transnational Juris Publications/GA Deventer, The Netherlands, Kluwer.
Freeman, R.D. (1965) ‘Trade Associations in the Australian Economy’, Public Administration, 23, 329–343.
Hanks, Frances, and Philip L. Williams (1990) ‘Implications of the Decision of the High Court in Queensland Wire,’ Melbourne University Law Review, 17, 437–461.
Hopt, Klaus J. (1987) ‘Restrictive Trade Practices and Juridification: A Comparative Law Study’, in Gunther Teubner (ed.) Juridication of Social Spheres: A Comparative Analysis in the Areas of Labor, Corporate, Antitrust and Social Welfare Law, Berlin, Walter de Gruyter.
Hunter, A. (1961) ‘Restrictive Practices and Monopolies in Australia’, Economic Record, 37, 25–52.
Hunter, A., and D. Simons (1963) ‘Collusive or Level Tendering and Public Authorities’, Australian Quarterly, 35, 17–35.
Industry Commission (1992) Pro-competitive Regulation, Discussion Paper, Fyshwick, ACT, CPN Publications.
Joint Committee on Constitutional Review (1959) Report, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service.
Karmel, P.H., and Maureen Brunt (1962) The Structure of the Australian Economy, revised edition, Melbourne, F.W. Cheshire Pty. Ltd.
Kaysen, Carl, and Donald F. Turner (1959) Antitrust Policy, Cambridge Mass., Harvard University Press.
Marr, David (1992) Barwick, second edition, North Sydney, Allen & Unwin.
Mason, Edward S. (1939) ‘Price and Production Policies of Large-Scale Enterprise’, reprinted in Mason, Edward S. (1957) Economic Concentration and the Monopoly Problem, Cambridge Mass., Harvard University Press.
Mason, Edward S. (1956) ‘Market Power and Business Conduct: Some Comments on the Report of the Attorney-General’s Committee on Antitrust Policy’, reprinted in Mason, Edward S. (1957) Economic Concentration and the Monopoly Problem, Cambridge Mass., Harvard University Press.
Masterman, George G., and Ezekiel Solomon (1967) Australian Trade Practices Law, Sydney, Butterworths.
National Competition Policy Review (F.G. Hilmer, Chairman) (1993) National Competition Policy, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service.
Officer R. R. (1987) ‘The Public Benefit Test in an Authorization Decision’, mimeo.
Richardson, J.E. (1967) Introduction to the Australian Trade Practices Act, Sydney, Hicks Smith & Sons.
Tasmania, Royal Commissioner on Prices and Restrictive Trade Practices (1965) Report, Hobart, Government Printer.
Trade Practices Commission (1992) Merger Guidelines, Draft for Comment, Canberra, Trade Practices Commission.
Trade Practices Commission (1993) Annual Report 1992–93, Canberra, Australian Government Publishing Service.
US Attorney-General’s National Commmittee to Study the Antitrust Laws (1955) Report, Washington DC, US Government Printing Office.
US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission (1992), Horizontal Merger Guidelines, Washington DC, Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission.
Walker, Geoffrey de Q. (1967) Australian Monopoly Law: Issues of Law, Fact and Policy, Melbourne, F.W. Cheshire Pty. Ltd.
Western Australia, Royal Commission on Restrictive Trade Practices and Legislation (1958) Report, Perth, Government Printer.
Williamson, Oliver E. (1968) “Economies as an Antitrust Defense: The Welfare Tradeoffs”, American Economic Review, 58, 18–36.
Williamson, Oliver E. (1977) “Economies as an Antitrust Defense Revisited,” University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 125, 699–736.
Yeung, Karen (1992) “The Court-room Economist in Australian Antitrust Litigation: An Underutilized Resource?” Australian Business Law Review, 20, 461–515.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Brunt, M. (1994). The Australian Antitrust Law after 20 Years — a Stocktake. In: Round, D.K. (eds) The Australian Trade Practices Act 1974. Studies in Industrial Organization, vol 19. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8324-4_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8324-4_3
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4491-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-015-8324-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive