1 / 30

Forum of Federations and CD Howe Institute Conference, Toronto, 1 February 2010

Addressing Internal Market Barriers and Integration: The Australian Experience Cliff Walsh School of Economics University of Adelaide South Australia. Forum of Federations and CD Howe Institute Conference, Toronto, 1 February 2010. AUSTRALIA. CONSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT

lidia
Télécharger la présentation

Forum of Federations and CD Howe Institute Conference, Toronto, 1 February 2010

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Addressing Internal MarketBarriers and Integration:The Australian ExperienceCliff WalshSchool of EconomicsUniversity of AdelaideSouth Australia Forum of Federations and CD Howe Institute Conference, Toronto, 1 February 2010

  2. AUSTRALIA

  3. CONSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT • WHY COOPERATIVE ECONOMIC REFORMS • WHAT REFORMS? • HOW ACHIEVED? • LESSONS FOR CANADA?

  4. CONSTITUTIONALCONTEXT

  5. COMMONWEALTH POWERS: • FEW EXCLUSIVE • MANY MORE CONCURRENT, WITH FEDERAL PARAMOUNTCY • STATES HAVE RESIDUAL POWERS • COVER MOST ECON ACTIVITY AND INFRA PROVISION

  6. “ECONOMIC UNION” PROVISIONS: • CUSTOMS UNION: EXCLUSIVE COMMONWEALTH POWER (s90) OVER CUSTOMS AND EXCISE DUTIES • COMMON MARKET: s92 “… TRADE, COMMERCE AND INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE STATES … SHALL BE ABSOLUTELY FREE”

  7. s92 ONLY PRECLUDES “DISCRIMINATORY BURDENS OF A PROTECTIONIST KIND” • CONSTRAINS REGULATORY DIFFERENCES • BUT DOESN’T NECESSITATE HARMONISATION

  8. USE OF MOST CONCURRENT POWERS UNCONTENTIOUS BUT NB • EXTERNAL AFFAIRS POWER: CAN OVERIDE STATE LEGN • CORPORATIONS POWER: CAN EVEN REGULATE MATTERS INTERNAL TO CORPORATIONS • GRANTS (SPENDING) POWER: REWARD STATE REFORM ACHIEVEMENTS

  9. CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE UNLIKELY • REFERRALS COOPERATIVE BUT PRACTICAL AND POLITICAL LIMITS • OTHER MEANS RELIED ON: • TEMPLATE LEGISLATION • MIRROR LEGISLATION • FRAMEWORK LAWS • SIMPLY IGAs

  10. THE WHY, WHAT AND HOW OF AUSTRALIA’S COOPERATIVE ECONOMIC REFORMS

  11. WHY? • ECON CRISIS: UNILATERAL TARIFF REDUCTIONS • INTENSE PRESSURE FOR DOMESTIC ECON REFORMS • STATES’ PARTICIPATION BECOMES ESSENTIAL • ECON AND POLITICAL BENEFITS ALL-ROUND • 2+ DECADES & STILL GOING

  12. WHAT? • DETERMINED SOLELY BY WHETHER INCREASES COMPETITION ETC • PRESUMPTION IN FAVOUR OF COMPETITION BUT COULD BE REBUTTED • FOCUS CHANGES OVER TIME

  13. PHASE 1: 1990s • STARTS MODESTLY EARLY 90s: INFLUENCED BY EU • MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENT ETC. • BUT NB ALSO PERFORMANCE MONITORING OF GBEs

  14. 1995-2005 COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL COMPETITION POLICY (NCP). KEY ELEMENTS: • REFORMS TO PREVIOUSLY SHELTERED GBEs: ESPECIALLY ELECTRICITY, GAS, WATER • WIDE-RANGING LEGISLATION REVIEWS : TO REMOVE ANTI-COMPETITIVE LEGISLATION

  15. OTHER ELEMENTS INCLUDED: • WIDENED COVERAGE OF TRADE PRACTICES ACT • COMPETITIVE NEUTRALITY • SEPARATION OF REGULATORY FROM COMMERCIAL FUNCTIONS • VERTICAL SEPARATION • THIRD-PARTY ACCESS REGIMES

  16. SOME INTERNAL MARKET REFORMS BUT NOT HIGH PRIORITIES: E.G. • MORE UNIFORM APPROACH TO REGULATING TRUCKS • NATIONAL INTEGRATION OF INFRA PROVISION

  17. PHASE 2: AGREED 2006 • NATIONAL REFORM AGENDA (NRA) • REGULATORY REFORM STREAM “TO DELIVER A SEAMLESS NATIONAL ECONOMY” • REDUCE FRAGMENTATION • IMPROVE REGN-MAKING & REVIEW

  18. INITIALLY 10 PRIORITY AREAS • PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION: INCREASE GDP BY 1.33%? • SOME ISSUES IN CANADA NOT IN AUSTRALIA • NOW 27: IN SUMMARY:- • GREATER INTEGRATION OF LABOUR MARKETS: PROMOTE MOBILITY & SKILLS ACQUISITION

  19. REGULATION OF SAFETY & OTHER STANDARDS • CONSUMER INFORMATION AND PROTECTION • STREAMLINE GOVT APPROVAL AND COMMUNICATIONS PROCESSES FOR BUSINESSES

  20. BENEFITS > THAN +1.33% GDP • REFORMS TO REGULATION-MAKING AND REVIEW IMPORTANT • FOR MOST BUSINESSES, EXCESSIVE REGULATIONS • OTHER NRA REFORMS INCLUDE WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION & PRODUCTIVITY

  21. HOW? & LESSONS FOR CANADA? • VITAL: SEPARATE INTERGOVTL FORUM – COAG • ALSO: DRIVEN & MONITORED BY FIRST MINISTERS • REFORMS ARTICULATED AS ABOUT COMPETITION  PRODUCTIVITY  LIVING STANDARDS

  22. BROAD-BASED PACKAGES • MUTUALLY REINFORCING ITEMS • REDUCING INTERNAL BARRIERS ONLY IF HIGH BENEFITS • TAILOR-MADE IGAs FOR EACH PACKAGE & COMPONENT

  23. STATE PREMIERS: SEEN AS NATIONALLY SIGNIFICANT • LITTLE OR NO FINGER-POINTING AT PAST “PAROCHIALISM” • SENIOR OFFICIALS GROUP STABILISED PROCESSES WHEN POLITICAL TENSIONS

  24. REFORM PRIORITIES ESPECIALLY INFLUENCED BY • BUSINESS COMMUNITY (BCA) • PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION • WHERE POSSIBLE, SET OUT OBJECTIVES AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES • STATES LEFT TO IMPLEMENT TO SUIT LOCAL PREFERENCES

  25. COMMITMENT OF STATES SUSTAINED BY REWARD PAYMENTS • PROGRESS ASSESSED BY INDEPENDENT AGENCY • RESULTS DISPROPORTIONATE TO REWARD $s AVAILABLE

  26. TRANSPARENCY • COMMUNIQUÉS FOLLOW ALL COAG MEETINGS • BACKGROUND PAPERS RELEASED • ASSESSMENTS OF PROGRESS MADE PUBLIC • PC PUBLIC INQUIRIES

  27. OUTCOMES ACHIEVED

  28. PC REVIEW OF NCP (2005) • ESTIMATED +2.5% GDP FROM INFRA REFORMS ALONE • ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO • PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH SURGE: OECD GDP PER CAPITA RANK BACK TO 8TH (18TH LATE 1980s!) • TRADE/GDP RATIO TO OVER 45% (20% EARLY 1980s)

  29. CURRENT REFORMS PROJECTED TO INCREASE GDP BY • 1.33% REGULATORY REFORMS AFTER 10 YRS (ONLY 10 OF 27) • 6% INCREASED WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION. 3% INCREASED WORKFORCE PRODUCTIVITY • BUT N.B. AFTER 25+ YEARS, AND POSSIBLY LARGE IMPLEMENTATION COSTS

  30. SHOULDN’T OVERSTATE • RAISED PRODUCTIVITY RELATIVE TO U.S.A.’s • HOWEVER, ONLY TO 76% AND STILL BELOW 1950 LEVEL • MUCH YET TO BE DONE!

More Related