The Australian Controversy over Abuse of Market Power Law: A Study in Political Economy

Abstract

This chapter seeks to provide a legal and political account of a major controversy about a proposed legislative change of the Australian abuse of dominance law, and to illustrate how efficiency and equity considerations have influenced the shaping of the law. After briefly describing the nature of the current and proposed law and the key interest groups and political players in the controversy, there is a history of the evolution of the law from its introduction in 1974 until now. That history also refers to some important legislative changes that have been triggered as a by-product of the inability of governments to resolve directly controversies regarding the abuse of dominance law. The c..