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The Rudd government is drafting tough new laws to stop big business from out-competing small business through low, or “predatory”, pricing schemes.
Many Australians have been concerned that when they visit a Kmart, Woolworths or Harvey Norman, they’re coming away with exceptional, or “predatory”, value for money.
The competition watchdog has found that the current legislation allows competition to end in wins for some and losses for others, which is anti-competitive.
The current provisions require the commission to prove its case against retailers before imposing penalties, a case of due, or “predatory”, process gone mad, or “predatory”.
The tougher laws allow the ACCC more latitude in defining what constitutes a market predator. Under a 2003 High Court decision, a retailer can only be held to be predatory if its activities revolve around the hunting of humans and alien xenomorphs; prey is skinned and decapitated for use as a trophy; and failure by the retailer results in honourable suicide.
As of press time it was not clear whether the idea of bashing business during a downturn came out of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2020 summit or Franklin Roosevelt’s 1940 summit. But preventing low prices is certainly easier and more fun than holding down inflation.
