2018-03-06 S&O Agenda - Attachment 1 to Item 2 - Public Interest Test Report

                                                                         Attachment 1 to Item 2
                                       Services & Organisation Committee Agenda, 6 March 2018
Noosa Council - Public Interest Test Report: Proposed Local Law No. 7 (Waste
Management) 2017
                                                                                                  1



Noosa Council - Public Interest Test Report

Local Law No. 7 (Waste Management) 2017


 1.        Introduction
In accordance with the procedure required under the Local Government Act 2009 (LG Act)
and the Local Government Regulation 2012 (LG Regulation), a public-interest test has been
conducted in respect of the anti-competitive provisions which were identified in the proposed
Local Law No.7 (Waste Management) 2017 (LL7).
The public interest test has been conducted against the principles and objectives set by the
Competition Principles Agreement which was outlined in the Public Interest Test Plan for LL7.
A copy of the Public Interest Test Plan is included as Annexure A to this Public Interest Test
Report.
In compliance with the LG Act and Section 15 of the LG Regulation, this Public Interest Test
Report has been prepared in accordance with the Guidelines for Conducting Reviews on Anti-
Competitive Provisions in Local Laws (Guidelines).

2.        Definitions
The following expressions used in this report have the following meanings:

        Council means the Noosa Shire Council.

        LL7 means the proposed Local Law No.7 (Waste Management) 2017.

3.        The Key NCP Objective
The key objective of the National Competition Policy (NCP) is to develop a more open and
integrated Australian market that limits anti-competitive conduct and removes the special
advantages previously enjoyed by government business activities, where it is in the public
interest to do so.
While NCP is designed to result in better use of resources and substantial and ongoing
benefits to the community, the introduction of increased levels of competition will not always
deliver the best overall result for the community.
Accordingly, governments have a responsibility to ensure that NCP reforms are only
implemented where it is demonstrated that such reforms are clearly in the public interest, that
is, there is a clear demonstration that competitive reform will yield a net benefit, and no
significant detriment, to the community. While Council is well aware of the potential benefits
that competition can bring to the community, Council will continue to ensure that competition
is not pursued for competition’s sake and that a considered and pragmatic approach is taken
to NCP.
One of the elements of flexibility in Queensland’s NCP review process involves the
consideration of economic or social adjustment costs of moving from one regulatory situation
to an alternative arrangement.
In some cases, reform that is clearly in the broad public interest may impose adjustment costs
on a particular group. In such cases, consideration can be given to whether transitionary