A Tougher Merger Law for Australia
Russell Miller
Australian Journal of Competition and Consumer Law
Russell Miller AM, ‘Reflections: A Tougher Merger Law for Australia’ (2023) 31(2) Australian Journal of Competition and Consumer Law 155
Opening paragraph
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has ignited a vigorous debate by calling for tougher merger laws. In a recent address to the National Press Club, the ACCC Chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, took up a call first made by her predecessor Rod Sims AO, for wholesale changes to both the merger review process and to Australia's substantive merger law. The ACCC has experienced a number of unsuccessful court and Tribunal challenges over the past few years. It has concluded that the law as it currently stands is inadequate to block mergers that raise serious market power concerns. The author will return to that, but before doing so, it is appropriate to consider the economic principles on which merger policy is based and the history of the merger policy debate in Australia. [footnotes omitted]