Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chair Rod Sims delivered a keynote address at a conference in Sydney on Thursday, November 29, debating whether competition law’s purpose should be expanded in light of the “hipster antitrust” movement.
“For the last few decades there has been a broad consensus among those in the antitrust community around the world that competition law should promote some concept of ‘consumer welfare’; that competition law is primarily about making markets work for consumers,” Mr Sims said. “This has also been the position in Australia.”
Mr Sims said the foundations of competition law were now being called into question, with some commentators calling for its objectives to be broadened to public policy issues such as income inequality, protection of democracy, financial stability, or promotion of environmental outcomes.
“At its heart, the hipster antitrust movement is a critique of the consumer welfare standard,” Mr Sims said.
Mr Sims spoke at length regarding the history of competition law, and his opposition to introducing broader public interest considerations into the core of competition law enforcement.
“In my view, it is inadvisable and counterproductive to import these considerations into the core of competition. Competition law and policy should be first and foremost about protecting and promoting competition for the welfare of consumers.
“Just because an instrument is targeted at one objective, however,
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