Consumers/Citizens and the National Competition Policy

NCP provides a framework for reform ranging from the introduction of competition in energy and water services to the dismantling of agricultural marketing boards. The effects on consumers will depend upon whether their interests are narrowly construed as preoccupations with price and choice of services or whether they extend to broad social justice and equity considerations. The 'marketisation' of government services is not concerned with distributional equity, and budget funding of CSOs is necessary to address distributional inequities. But domestic consumers will remain captive to monopoly franchises and competition objectives add pressure for the 'contracting out' of government services and the winding back of cross-subsidies which have traditionally operated in favour of household consumers.
NCP will transform the public from 'citizen' to 'consumer'. Consumer advocates have risen to these new challenges and grasped the opportunity presented by industry restructuring to propose a range of mechanisms for consumer empowerment. This article will briefly identify some of the key issues for consumers in the implementation of the NCP and demonstrate the complexity of any attempt to assess the threats and opportunities for consumers. Particular attention will be given to the reforms to the electricity industries in NSW and Victoria.