2018-06-21 Ordinary Meeting Agenda

ORDINARY MEETING AGENDA                                                             21 JUNE 2018


7    ORDINARY MEETING REPORTS


1    APPLICATION OF NATIONAL COMPETITION POLICY REFORM FOR 2018-19
     BUDGET

Author            Manager Financial Services, Trent Grauf
                  Corporate Services Department

Index             ECM/ 22.11 National Competition Policy

Attachments       Nil



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Not applicable.

RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Manager Financial Services to the Ordinary Meeting dated 21
June 2018 and:
A.   Continue to apply the Full Cost Pricing reform option to the Waste Management business
     activity for the 2018/19 financial year in accordance with section 44(1)(b) of the Local
     Government Act 2009; and
B.   Continue to apply the Code of Competitive Conduct to the Holiday Parks business activity
     for the 2018/19 financial year in accordance with section 47 of the Local Government Act
     2009.


REPORT
The Local Government Act 2009 requires Council to decide each financial year whether to apply
National Competition Policy (NCP) reform to its identified business activities.

Certain activities of Council are required to be identified as business activities if they trade in
goods and services that could potentially be delivered by a private sector firm for the purposes of
earning profits in the absence of Council’s involvement. They do not include the non-business,
non-profit activities of Council such as the libraries, aquatic centre, parks maintenance etc.

The primary purpose for Councils to apply NCP reforms to its business activities is to assist in
removing anti-competitive conduct, encourage greater transparency in the operation of its
competitive activities and improve the allocation of Council’s limited resources.

A number of different reform options are provided under legislation for application to identified
business activities. Commercialisation or Full Cost pricing reforms are generally applied to larger
or financially significant business activities, whereas the Code of Competitive Conduct is applied
to the smaller or prescribed business activities.

The general premise to consider is that the larger the Council business activity the larger the
potential financial impact on the local economy and potential competitors, and hence greater
level of reform applied to ensure ongoing competitive neutrality.




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