The Competitive Edge

Partner Tanya Macdonald and Special Counsel Haidee Leung join us to talk about the first year of the new merger regime -- half-voluntary, half-mandatory -- how it started, how it's going, what's changed and the changes to come. Plus exceptional circumstances call for exceptional measures, the ACCC whacks Miyagi and probes Prime for unfair contract terms, and new rules target supermarket price-gouging … All this and the Anzac Act with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links:  The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix  Is the Strait of Hormuz open? or Is the Strait of Hormuz closed?  G+T on the ACCC's new powers to act in exceptional circumstances  The ACCC's court action against Miyagi and Amazon for unfair contract terms  ACCC media release, guidelines and the industry code on supermarket excessive pricing  The ACCC's latest merger FAQs  G+T on the latest changes to the merger control regime  SBS on Anzac cookies and biscuits  "Wogball: Australia's Beautiful Game" on SBS  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Dr Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury joins us to talk about AI, the revitalised National Competition Policy, non-competes and unfair trading practices, and competition on the field and in the economy. Plus, marathons and ultramarathons, the ParaSkyWarBroDisco merger, the 'Australia Plus' UK social media ban, and the ACCC takes Grill'd to court for greenwashing … All this, and Ewar Woowar, with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.     Links:  Richard Bachman at Lilja's Library  Randy Bachman on pronouncing Bachman-Turner Overdrive  Ultraman: Rising on Netflix and "Ultraman Teo" coming soon.   The UK Government announces its "Australia-plus" social media ban  Shakespeare's "Sonnet VI"  ACCC's case against Grill'd press release, concise statement and court file  AEC profile of the electoral division of Fenner  Dr Andrew Leigh's speech on competition policy for AI agents  Anna Goldworthy's "The God We Made: The Threat and Promise of Artificial Intelligence", Quarterly Essay 102   Edward Woodward obituary with unexpected Judi Dench  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Professor Julian Wright from the National University of Singapore joins us to talk about competition and regulation up and down the AI stack -- from the chips to the chatbots and everything in between. Is it winner-takes-all or winner-takes most? Will the digital platforms displace the new labs? And do we need more regulation or less? Plus a competition conference is compliantly considered, Ampol/EG Australia is the first Phase 2 merger approved by the ACCC, the new-look unfair trading practices bill reaches parliament, and AI essays and encyclicals abound … All this and cinematic polycephaly with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.    Links:   Michael B Jordan on playing identical twins Smoke and Stack in Sinners  Three-eyed animals in Train Dreams and The Secret Agent  ACCC approves Ampol's acquisition of EG Australia in first finalised Phase 2  Track the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026  Damien Charlotin's AI Hallucination Cases Database  Justice Needham, "AI and the Courts in 2025"  Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical Letter, "Magnifica Humanitas"  Prof Julian Wright, "Artificial Intelligence and Competition Policy" at ScienceDirect  Anna Goldsworthy's Quarterly Essay, "The God We Made: The Threat and Promise of Artificial Intelligence"  The Competitive Edge's cryptic crosswords, conspicuously inspired by Justice Wigney  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Dr Lilla Csorgo, lay member of the High Court of New Zealand, joins us to talk about being Chief Economist in three different countries, approaches to ex ante regulation and merger control, being approximately correct vs precisely wrong, and whether fiction and economics have anything in common. Plus, the ACCC wins against Coles in its “was/now/had been” pricing case, the courts have thoughts on NSW Ports, competition and consumer initiatives in the federal budget, and competition and consumer concerns at the FIFA World Cup … All this and e-micromobility with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.     Links:    Henry Ergas, "TSLRIC, TELRIC and Other Forms of Forward-Looking Cost Models in Telecommunications: A Curmudgeon's Guide" at SSRN  Softwar by Thierry Breton and Denis Beneich at The Internet Archive  Prose and plays by Dr Lilla Csorgo   ACCC v Coles [2026] FCA 598   Mayfield v NSW Ports [2026] HCA 21 Summary and Judgment  "Why Susie sells seashells by the seashore: Implicit egotism and major life decisions", Journey of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(4) 469-487  Why all fire trucks are called Dennis  Discover your Hogwarts House at Hatty Potter Wizarding World  Julien Guyon, "Risk of Collusion: Will Groups of 3 Ruin the FIFA World Cup?"  The Disgrace of Gijon on YouTube  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward delivered this year's Bannerman Competition Lecture (jointly hosted by the Business Law Section of the LCA and the ACCC), tracking the development of trade practices and competition law in Australia, the enduring influence of its first Commissioner and Chair and the challenges that lie ahead. Plus Woolworths and was/now pricing, Apple and app store access, and Mastercard and merchant routing in the courts; the future of cash revisited; and another Phase 2 review, this time for IAG and the RAC … All this and Bananaman with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. 

G+T Partner Geoff Petersen unpacks the regulatory response to the fuel shocks that are raising prices and causing shortages around the world, including security of energy supply and infrastructure, new demand from electric vehicles and data centres, and questions about fuel price gouging and domestic gas reservation.. Plus, the first quarter of the new merger regime and another round for the MicroStar/Konvoy acquisition, our new Solicitor-General of Australia, and the Wiggles deliver their product safety podcast … All this and a muse of fire with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.     Links:    Derek Jacobi's "Wooden O" speech from Kenneth Branagh's Henry V   Dire Straits, "Heavy Fuel"  What was the googlewhack?  ACCC, "New merger regime off to a positive start"  MicroStar/Konvoy on the new acquisitions register and the old public informal review register  Attorney-General recommends Solicitor-General to Governor-General  The Wiggles' podcast on button battery and toy safety  The ACCC's weekly fuel price monitoring report   G+T on the new maximum penalties for competition and consumer contraventions  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Legend emeritus Peter Waters and Partner Andrew Low take us through the rise and the risks of agentic AI in commerce and beyond: how AI agents can organise our holidays and even our lives, why we might or might not want them to, and how they interface with contract, competition and consumer protection law. Plus, Australia's highest individual competition law penalty in the Qteq case, and the US war against Iran brings concerns over fuel supply and pricing as well as limits on AI. All this and Maxwell Smart with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.    Links:    The ACCC's fuel price monitoring updates  Treasury Laws Amendment (Doubling Penalties for ACCC Enforcement) Bill 2026  One of the David Byrnes talks to the ABC about petrol prices  The other one sings "(Nothing but) Flowers"  Anthropic on its dispute with the Department of War and its preliminary reprieve (for now)  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Xmas in February: Partner Louise Klamka takes us behind the scenes of the ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities and what we can expect in the coming year -- a wake-up call for business and advisers, changes to the law and the three-body problem of competition law, consumer protection and ex ante regulation. Plus Phase 2 mergers join the school of hard NOCCs, Fortnite fans emote as Epic Games and Google settle up, and a slap on the wristband for Live Nation/Ticketmaster? All this and the Brisbane Olympics with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.   Links:    G+T on the ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities for 2026-17  Notice of Competition Concerns summaries for Ampol/EG Australia and Coles in Kalgoorlie   All about Spudshed  Pantone 16-1350 TPG Amberglow and 17-1463 TCX Tangerine Tango  The Premier League's statement on Manchester City's 115 charges   Term sheet outlining the settlement between Epic Games and Google  AFL and NRL footy at the Brisbane Olympics?  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Partner Liana Witt and lawyer David Holmes take us through the Australian government's plan to prohibit unfair trading practices -- with all the low-down on subscription traps and drip pricing, the tests and the penalties, and how businesses can prepare for the new rules. Plus, the ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities for 2026-27, what's going down down down at the Coles pricing hearing, and even more changes to the US antitrust landscape … All this and Buffalo buffalo with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.    Links:    The Garden Palace Fire of 1882  G+T on the ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities for 2026-17  Lian and David on the government's unfair trading practices proposal  Buffalo buffalo and had had had had  New York Times on Gail Slater's departure from the Antitrust Division  What is a possession arrow in basketball or merger review?  We're All Going to the World's Fair trailer  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au     

Special Counsel Amelia McKellar joins us to explore merger control and microchips, industry policy and involution in the world's second-largest economy. Plus, all the news on the new and now mandatory Australian merger framework, G+T's new tool to navigate all those thresholds and forms, the proposed prohibition on unfair trading practices planned for 2027, and a whistleblower bounty in the US … All this and the accidental sad horse with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.          Links:    ABC on Australia's Central Western Standard Time Zone (UTC+08:45)   The Criterion Collection on the Once Upon a Time in China series   The consolidated Notifications Determination and the Forms Determination   G+T on the merger changes that came into effect in January 2026  Our new merger assessment obligation tool: MerTL  Possibly the best book written on the subject of turtle stacking  US Antitrust Division and US Postal Service pay $1m whistleblower bounty  Check out our episode on whistleblowers with Kieran Pender from last September  No-one's far from anyone anymore with the OTC in 1990  The Guardian on the accidental sad/crying horse  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

How to Host a Merger: In our special Antipodean summer edition, head of Competition Elizabeth Avery and co-head of Corporate Advisory and M&A, Costas Condoleon, share their experiences with Australia’s new merger regime so far, with a focus on multijurisdictional mergers, foreign investment, and global counsel. Notification thresholds, forms and fees, engaging with the competition and foreign investment regulators, information requirements and timeframes, conditions precedent and how to avoid gun-jumping … all this and board games with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of #TheCompetitiveEdge #podcast #competitionlaw Links:  How to host a How to Host a Murder, original and reboot Our new merger review portal, Australia’s new merger regime: what you need to know All about drop bears, hoop snakes and fishing spiders Try our new competition-law-themed cryptic crossword and all our other ones Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Partners Simon Muys and Tanya Macdonald join us to ring in Australia’s new merger clearance regime – what's settled, what's still up in the air and how our clients are navigating the new world in the third but not necessarily final instalment of our webinar series. This episode may qualify for 1 CPD point depending on your jurisdiction. Plus Skarsgårds and Sarsgaards, trilogies of four or more, and our new MergerHub … All this and nothing more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.   Check out our new hub on Australia's new merger regime: what you need to know  Watch a video of the webinar  Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh's announcement of refinements to the regime  Skarsgårds in Murderbot on Apple TV, It: Welcome to Derry on HBO Max and Andor on Disney+  Desert wildflowers in Broken Hill  The Matrix filming locations in Sydney  Try our new competition-law-themed cryptic crossword and all our other ones  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb delivers a keynote at our recent forum on the new merger framework that's just around the riverbend: why the change, how to engage with the ACCC, and what's still up in the air. Plus the Chatham chat on fees, thresholds and first-instance decision-making, an agreement on unfair trading practices, the FTC loses its case against Meta, and former chair Lina Khan's new gig in New York … All this and movie posters with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of #TheCompetitiveEdge #podcast #competitionlaw #rrrjrrr Links: The complete The Rural Juror on 30 Rock Heraclitus/Pocahontas on social media market definitions (sing-along) FTC v Meta memorandum opinion Treasury Ministers announcement on unfair trading practices The Guardian on Lina Khan's new gig John McWhorter on mispronouncing Mamdani Drew Struzan and Richard Amsel movie posters Our new competition-law-themed cryptic crossword and all our other ones

DPSI 10 Your Seatbelts: Kate Reader, head of the ACCC's Digital Markets Branch and G+T alum, returns to unpack the landmark Digital Platform Services Inquiry, developments in Australia and overseas and greatly exaggerated rumours about the ACCC's digital team. Plus the newest conference on the competition mafia or knitting circle's calendar, the new acquisitions register hits its stride, and a hot potato for the Wiggles … All this and merger jokes with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.  [Links]   ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb's speech at the Australian Competition Summit  Julian Wright and Andrei Hagiu on Artificial Intelligence and Competition Policy  The entire Digital Platform Services Inquiry 2020-25  Australia's lunar rover Roo-ver  The Wiggles on button batteries and electricity more generally  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

The new Scams Prevention Framework will kick in next year with codes of conduct and big penalties for failing to take reasonable steps to combat scams. Competition partner Jeremy Jose and Disputes and Investigations partner Antonia Garling take us through the impact on the telecommunications, digital platform and banking sectors and what this will mean for business and consumers. Plus more tweaks to the new merger process; a green light for Cuscal/Indue but last drinks for MicroStar/Konvoy in the twilight of the old regime, or mergerdämmerung; and a new prohibition on excessive pricing. All this and our upcoming forum on the new merger system with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.   Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Moving On Up: Non-compete and no-poach restrictions in employment contracts in the government's sights, and Special Counsels Amelia McKellar and Kaushalya Mataraaratchi explain how long-standing exceptions to the competition law could be put on gardening leave. Plus subscription traps and Amazon's Iliad flow, Taylor Swift and Ticketmaster, Treasury on AI and the ACL, ASIC and ANZ, and a new Commissioner at the ACCC … All this and M People with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.   Breaking News:   ACCC announces decisions on two of the eight remaining old school mergers on its register, waving through Cuscal's acquisition of payment facilitation supplier Indue Limited but opposing MicroStar Logistics' acquisition of the assets of keg pooling service provider Konvoy Holdings.    Links:   M People with "Moving On Up" and Loleatta Holloway with "Love Sensation" and "Ride on Time"  The Final Countdown on the ACCC's public informal merger clearance register  MN-01019: Ampol's proposed acquisition of retail sites from EG Australia FTC and Amazon settle for $US2.5bn over Prime subscriptions  FTC takes Ticketmaster to court over resales and price and ticket limits  ASIC press release and press conference on ANZ agreed penalties  Treasury's Final Report in its review of AI and the ACL  G+T on Treasury's consultation on non-competes  ABC on the rebel R360 league and eligibility for internationals   Treasury and ACCC announce the new ACCC Commissioner  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Kieran Pender from the Human Rights Law Centre joins us to talk about whistleblowers -- how they're protected, how they engage with regulators, the changes that could be coming, and how businesses can encourage accountability in their own culture and processes. Plus the new merger notification waiver form; firings, re-hirings and re-firings in the US antitrust agencies; Google wins, loses or draws on penalties; the ACCC's purple patch in cartel enforcement and the last informal merger reviews race for the finish line. All this and morels with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of The Competitive Edge podcast. Breaking News: All three judgments and 750,000 words of the Epic Games and class action cases against Apple and Google are now available: Epic v Apple, Epic v Google and all the class action action. Justice Beach has indicated he may be up for additional reasons or judgments on the non-section 46 issues so we may yet break the million-word mark. Links: G+T's analysis of the draft Waiver Notification form CJ John Roberts stays the Appeal Court's stay of the stay Young MacGyver pilot The District Court's penalty decision in US v Google ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb's address to the Competition and Consumer Workshop New cartel enforcement actions in cranes and cauliflower Commitments and understandings in the Delta and BlueScope appeals Fisk S02E06 - "Snitches get Riches" on ABC iView The last days of chez public informal merger review Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Partner Geoff Petersen joins us fresh from the ACCC/AER Regulatory Conference with the latest on regulating infrastructure, the energy transition, competition and innovation.   Plus the Government's Economic Reform Roundtable; a second leasehold on the ACCC's acquisitions register earns a new frequently asked question; more casualties at the US antitrust agencies; and what even is a notification waiver?   All this and Sudanese cinema with  co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of The Competitive Edge podcast.   [Links]  Breaking news:   Treasury has released its draft Notification Waiver form for consultation. G+T's analysis compares the draft form to the short-form notification form.   Allegedly former FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter is back at work for now after the DC Circuit Court of Appeals found 2-1 that the administration had no likelihood of success.    Links:   The first episode of "Conference 27" on YouTube   Khartoum Offside on Kanopy  G+T on Lease Agreements on the Acquisitions Register  We've all been saying "Passiona" wrong  Former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roger Alford on the DOJ and the HP-Juniper merger  Product placement in the Top Gun movies  G+T on safeguarding our energy supply  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Productivity Commissioner Stephen King joins us to talk about regulation and innovation, data and AI, the lost decade of productivity growth, and the baptist and bootlegger issue. Plus Epic wins the first round against Apple and Google, mavericks and icepeople at the ACCC/AER Regulatory Conference, the first acquisition is notified under the new merger regime, and the long haul to the High Court for NSW Ports and the Port of Newcastle. All this and the Rock Bottom Remainders with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. G+T on the Epic cases against Apple and Google  Koala Airlines' spokesmarsupial on sitting and flying  The ACCC's new acquisitions register ft Kongsberg Defence and the Newcastle Aerotropolis   Defence images of Naval and Joint Strike Missiles  The Productivity Commission's Five Pillars of Productivity inquiry and interim reports   Commencement speeches from John F Kennedy and Kermit the Frog  The Rock Bottom Remainders at the Miami Book Fair  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Jennifer Fish, Economist at Charles River Associates, joins us to talk about the new merger approval process and its sharper focus on data and economic analysis, how lawyers can most effectively engage with economists, the state of hipster and hillbilly antitrust, and the representation of women in the profession. Plus the final filing fees and the near-final ACCC merger guidelines, the Final Report of the Digital Platform Services Inquiry, movie ticket surcharges and the final Fast and Furious film, the final stand of the final fired FTC Commissioner, and a surprise musical finale. All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein  "When I'm Gone" by The Carter Family, Lulu and the Lampshades and Anna Kendrick  G+T on the ACCC’s analytical framework and the process for the new merger regime  G+T on the final filing fees and notification thresholds for the new merger regime  The ACCC's Digital Platform Services Inquiry 2020-25  The ACCC fines Dendy 1650 concession tickets for drip pricing  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Partners Charles Coorey, Andrew Low and Liana Witt take us deeper into the new merger review process -- the filing fees, the forms and information requirements, and how to engage with the ACCC before and after notifying, with more wrinkles than Winnie the bulldog. Who gets to notify when there's a competitive bidding process? When can you claim confidentiality? How do the ACCC and FIRB work together? This is a recording of the second in our webinar series on Australia's new formal merger system which came into effect on a voluntary basis on 1 July and will be mandatory from 1 January 2026. This episode may qualify for 1 CPD point depending on your jurisdiction.

Why should you start your legal career in Australia’s leading competition, consumer and market regulation practice? Recent clerks and now team members Amy van Dongen and Elena Khoury, partners Louise Klamka and Andrew Low, and some old friends who have moved on to great things join us in this special episode. Hear what they think about the people, the opportunities and the firm’s focus on innovation and social impact. Subscribe to the podcast mailing list Visit our website for details regarding the selection process for each office and to access the application form Students can also get in touch with us via gtcareers@gtlaw.com.au Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Try our competition law-themed cryptic crossword, inspired but in no way endorsed by Justice Wigney

Partner Charles Coorey and pro bono lawyer Jessie-Grace Stephenson read the fine print on consumer protection and product safety -- from quad bikes to button batteries and how businesses can support their vulnerable customers. Plus million-dollar (maybe) fees for complex mergers in the coming merger regime, Hungry Jack's and the existential terror of Garfield, toxophilites aquiver over price-fixing in archery supplies, and a Chatham House competition conference is compliantly discussed. All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.    The British Film Institute on punctuation in movie titles  Variety on Thunderbolts* and *The New Avengers (spoilers)  G+T Partner Andrew Low on digital platform reform and regulation at the Competition Law Conference  The burping Garfield toy and Garfield's existential terror   The ACCC's enforcement outcomes against Hungry Jack's and Thermomix  Australia's original Burger King ft Humphrey B Bear  The price-fixing class-action complaint against big archery  Treasury's consultation on proposed fees for merger clearance   Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Special Counsel Amelia McKellar joins us to talk trends and developments in antitrust, artificial intelligence and digital regulation in Asia -- what's going on in key jurisdictions and what it all means for Australia. Plus our new-look ministry and what's next for competition and regulation, a win for the ACCC in the Qteq qase and new wrinkles in the Spotless and Ventia action, steak sauce in schools and roaming commissioners in the US. All this and Humphrey's Executor with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Australia’s new, formal, mandatory and suspensory merger regime comes into effect on a voluntary basis on 1 July this year and will be mandatory from 1 January 2026. Join G+T partners Elizabeth Avery, Louise Klamka and Jeremy Jose for a webinar first livestreamed in April on the coming notification thresholds and waivers, the timelines, the new framing of the merger test, the long and the short of the forms – and the pieces of the puzzle still to come. And keep an eye out for the next webinar on 18 June! Presentation slides  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au    

Partners Elizabeth Avery and Liana Witt report back from a very different American Bar Association Spring Meeting in Washington DC, and take us through recent upheavals in US competition and consumer law. What is the new “America First” antitrust, what does it mean for global deals, big tech and AI, and how will it impact Australia and the rest of the world? Plus digital platforms and the new regime, the ACCC bags a penalty in ocean plastics and has no truck with LDV's SUVs, and what to expect from the newly returned government …  All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.  [Links]   Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

In this bonus episode, we rejoin Professor Emerita Anne Twomey for more on how media is regulated at election time. How could AI be deployed in political advertising? What is misinformation anyway, and who should decide what is verifiably true or false? Can truth in political advertising be legislated? And what's the future of debate in the town square - or are we all on our own private bubble?   Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Professor Emerita Anne Twomey, constitutional law expert and G+T consultant, takes us through the regulation of elections: misinformation, disinformation and the implied freedom of political communication. Plus the new draft merger thresholds, targeted sectors and forms; the High Court's understanding of "understanding" in the ACCC's case against Hutchinson and the CFMEU; the Digital Platform Services Inquiry wraps up, and we check in on the parties' election platforms. All this and voodoo economics with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.    Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Economist and former head of  the Competition Authority of Ireland and the UK Office of Fair Trading  John Fingleton CBE  joins us from the Competition Taskforce to talk about Australia's recent and future reforms, the role of ex ante regulation and the shifting sands of antitrust in the US, the UK and Europe.  Plus competition and consumer protection in the Australian budget,  the ACCC's draft merger assessment and process guidelines, and the US agencies boycott an antitrust conference.  All this and jerseys vs guernseys with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.

Partner Louise Klamka and Special Counsel Rebecca Dollisson take us through the risks and rewards of business cooperation, from Virgin and Qatar to the Vanilla Ice Posse. When can you talk to your competitors, when should you talk to your lawyer, and when do you need the ACCC? Plus the roadmap to the new merger clearance framework, the new scam prevention framework and some questionable consumer law limericks, why is there only one Monopolies Commission, and what is the new National Competition Policy? All this and the price of eggs with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.   G+T on the transitional arrangements to the new merger control regime  New Scientist's monopolies commission joke joke   Sinead O'Connor's "No Need to Argue"  and Phoebe Bridgers's "Fake Plastic Trees" on YouTube  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

The ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities are here and Partner Simon Muys reads between the lines on the new merger framework, the global zeitgeist and where private litigation fits in. Plus a re-evaluation of competition law, regulation and national champions; DeepSeek takes the Fast and Furious challenge; all the Niue/New Zealand numismatics news; and a new competition-law-themed cryptic crossword to reflect these convoluted times. All this and absurd alliteration with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.     Louis Dreyfus Company/Namoi on the ACCC's register and all of Elaine's get-outs   PM Malcolm Turnbull on Continuity and/with Change  The Draghi Report on European competitiveness  and the Commission's Competitiveness Compass  Doug Gurr's three things the CMA will be doing differently from now on  Marco Materazzi heinously headbutts Zinedine Zidane   The official rules of international rules  Is This What We Want? by 1000 UK artists on Spotify  The ACCC's new consumer protection action against the Bradford Exchange  G+T's competition and consumer insights for 2024-25 and our summary of the ACCC's priorities  The Competitive Edge Cryptic Crossword #6 and all the other crosswords   Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Chief Advisor Marcus Bezzi joins us to talk about his time at Treasury's Competition Taskforce, merger reform implementation, the future of our National Competition Policy and the next chapter in a life of competition law and policy. Plus antitrust shifts in the US and the UK, new judges for the Federal Court, merger reviews and non-reviews in smartphone apps, and a look at the year ahead … All this and low-fat yoghurt with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.   Links   Aunty Jack Introduces Colour at the National Archives of Australia  Executive orders and other presidential actions from the White House   All the new judges at the Federal Court  Compass/School Bytes on the ACCC register  Merger of the parking apps with the ACCC's statement of issues  Cab Calloway performs "Minnie the Moocher" in 1931 and 1980.   Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Special Counsel Amelia McKellar joins us with the latest on AI and consumer protection, from rogue chatbots to fake reviews and how regulators are combatting and using AI. Plus price-fixing on defence force estates in the ACCC's first competition law court case in a while; new and proposed laws on the merger process, social media age restrictions, privacy and ex ante digital platform regulation; and the Digital Platform Services Inquiry returns to search as the US Department of Justice proposes radical remedies for Google. All this and the green Teletubby with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.   [Links]   The Three Laws of Robotics on Wikipedia  TVTropes on works suggested by other works  Press release and concise statement for ACCC v Spotless  G+T on the passing of the merger reform legislation and what happens next  G+T on the passing of the social media minimum age legislation  Privacy Commissioner Carly Kind on social media age restrictions  G+T on the new consultation on an ex ante digital competition regime   G+T on the 9th and final interim report of the Digital Platform Services Inquiry  Report of the Committee on Digital Competition Law (India)  Moffatt v Air Canada, the AI chatbot decision  G+T on the first tranche Privacy Act amendments  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  New rules for the consumer data right  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au  

Partner Liana Witt joins us to talk about the latest in competition and consumer law enforcement and law reform. The ACCC is leaning into consumer and cost-of-living issues as a new prohibition against unfair trading practices is taking shape. Private and class actions are dominating new competition law cases, but ACCC cases currently on appeal could change the enforcement landscape dramatically.   Plus age restrictions for social media and a duty of care for digital platforms; new merger laws reach the final stretch; and Sigma and Chemist Warehouse take the W, skibidi.   All this and some confusion about US cabinet appointments with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.   G+T on the passage of the merger reform legislation G+T on social media age restrictions and the digital duty of care The latest Rap Sheet and Shop Talk newsletters  G+T consultant Anne Twomey on misinformation and disinformation and the doomed MAD Bill G+T on Treasury's latest consultation on unfair trading practices Senator Fatima Payman on "brain rot" The Straight Dope on the pompatus of love Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Productivity Commission Chair  Danielle Wood joins Partner Jeremy Jose to discuss the evolving role of the Commission, the Competition Taskforce, the progress and prospects of the new Competition Policy Review, and the importance of basing Australian policy on Australian evidence and data. Plus regulatory grids and antitrust raps at G+T's inaugural Financial Services Forum, a googol roubles trouble Google, rectangular wheat biscuit products and the ACCC's enduring priority of breakfast, and parliament juggles merger laws and divestiture bills. All this and four more years, apparently, with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. G+T on the inaugural Financial Services Forum Our new financial services-themed cryptic crossword ABC on Google's amusingly massive Russian fines ACCC on Weet-Bix maker Sanitarium's acquisition of Vita Brits Extended mix of Bob Hoskins and the menacing Weetabix kids Track the merger review bill and the latest divestiture bill What is the Federation Chamber?  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Deputy Assistant Attorney-General John W. Elias lays out the mission and culture of the Antitrust Division at the US Department of Justice, covering diversity in competition law, the new geometries of the US merger guidelines, and the recent AI workshop at Stanford. Plus vague promises and unfair trading practices; a hat-trick of competition and labour law complaints against FIFA; the ACCC's new merger surveillance team; and what the US election might mean for antitrust enforcement. All this and a bunch of goo with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Partner Geoff Petersen explores the new role for governments in the energy transition, taking the lead on targets and infrastructure and making sure consumers aren't left behind. But what's left for market mechanisms and national regulation? Plus the recalibrated merger reform bill hits Parliament with something for everyone in the notification thresholds; more supermarket scrutiny here and around the world; greenwashing in fashion and finance; big penalties for those Qantas ghost flights and a speeding ticket for Honda under the right-to-repair scheme. All this and plenty of disfluencies with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.   Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder, "Together in Electric Dreams"  Breakin'/Breakdance 2: Electric Boogaloo trailer G+T on the new merger reform bill and updated notification thresholds The ACCC's Grocery Inquiry 2008 and Supermarkets Inquiry 2024: was/now The Prime Minister on shrinkflation NZ Commerce Commission declines to clear the Foodstuffs merger The Warehouse, where everyone gets a bargain G+T's regular wrap-up on consumer law enforcement, Shop Talk G+T on ASIC's hat-trick in greenwashing cases The CMA's tailored guidance on greenwashing for fashion brands  ACCC v Qantas and inflight meals at home The Motor Vehicle Information Scheme and Honda and Panasonic in the first Fast and Furious heist Make your own podcast with Google's NotebookLM Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Partner Louise Klamka takes us down the catwalk where fashion meets competition law. Is the Birkin bag in a market of its own? Is "accessible luxury" a contradiction in terms or a reason to keep Tapestry away from Capri? And how does this relate to industrial relations and ESG-washing? Plus supermarket discounts and the new Food and Grocery Code; new directions for competition law in the European Commission and the Courts; and the Australian Competition Tribunal gets ready for its new role in the merger review framework. All this and More Songs about Buildings and Food with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. 

New ACCC Commissioner Dr Philip Williams AM trades a long history in economics in the private sector and academia for a crucial role with the competition regulator. He joins partner Simon Muys to discuss the history and future of competition law and economics, from misuse of market power to the structure–conduct–performance paradigm. Plus we examine the proposed merger notification thresholds; Disney's in court for unfair contract terms and a sports joint venture; the new anti-siphoning list gets a workout; the CMA investigates Ticketmaster over Oasis tickets; and the long awaited amendments to the Privacy Act finally land. All this and dynamic pricing with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.     Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au NPR on Trading Places and the Eddie Murphy rule G+T on the draft notification thresholds and their place in the new merger framework  More about motorway interchange design than you probably need to know  The Conversation on Disney's arbitration clause Judge Margaret M. Garnett issues a preliminary injunction against the Venu sports streaming joint venture  The BBC on Oasis and Ticketmaster and Choice on dynamic pricing G+T on the first tranche of amendments to the Privacy Act The Bundeskartellamt on applying the Remondis clause to Remondis Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Partner Tanya Macdonald on how industry associations and their members can promote industry, consumer and public interest goals while staying on the right side of the law. Plus Apple loosens up on contactless payments, with a few complications; the ACCC gets creative with Google search defaults; a 3-to-2 merger in credit reporting sails through; and the High Court gears up to untangle contracts, arrangements and understandings. All this and main characters of few words with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.

NZCC Chief Economist and former DoJ Counsel Douglas Rathbun speaks to Special Counsel Haidee Leung about why New Zealand is the best place in the world to think about the future of competition policy, regulation of nascent technologies like generative AI, how the Commerce Commission is adapting to new challenges and, controversially, who really invented the flat white.  Plus the US v Google judgment and what it means for search and beyond; submissions to the Treasury consultation on unfair trading practices and unfair contract terms in ASIC v PayPal; and the Digital Platform Services Inquiry rounds the final corner and hits the nitrous.  All this and chapeaus, chaussures and chaussettes with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein . 

The Government has released a hundred pages of draft amendments to the merger review framework, and partners Elizabeth Avery and Simon Muys talk us through the devil in all that detail. What does the new process mean for procedural fairness? How does the new test affect the whole of the competition law? Is this faster or a disaster, stronger or just longer, simpler or whatever rhymes with simpler?  All this and what comes next with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. 

Technology + Digital Partner Melissa Fai takes us through the seismic changes to the Privacy Act now expected in August, with new protections for individuals, obligations on business and powers for the regulator to match the massive increase in maximum penalties we saw in 2022. Plus more yellow cards for FIFA and other sports administrators in the courts; the backlog in submissions for Treasury competition and consumer consultations; antitrust trolling from the US congress; and federal relations return to the Competition Policy Review with the crafting of bright lines. All this and Matt Damon with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.  Kynan Eng on the fictional cost of rescuing Matt Damon FIFPRO Europe's statement on the case against FIFA and the Club World Cup 2025  L Edward Martin IV in the Houston Law Review on baseball's antitrust exemption Submissions to Treasury on merger reform and unfair trading practices (pending) The House Judiciary Committee Interim Staff Report on Decarbonization Collusion and the minority counter-report on a Bogus Antitrust Theory G+T on ASIC's latest court win in greenwashing and the new climate-related financial disclosure framework The Attorney-General's speech on coming changes to the Privacy Act Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Elizabeth Avery and G+T Ventures head Xavier Keary investigate the coming collision of venture capital and the new merger proposals as the ACCC draws the line at market power. You can't enter a box junction unless your exit is clear -- is it the same for the startup sector, and what does that mean for economic dynamism? Plus merger reforms and AI were discussed and the Chatham House rule was observed at the Hodgekiss Competition Law Conference; market share thresholds and call in powers under the new merger framework; third parties do a Michelle Heyman around the ACCC’s decision in Brickworks v BGC and legal privilege in expert reports; private misuse of market power actions against Sony and more; and could school apps be a natural monopoly? All this and professional-grade sporting analogies with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

The ACCC is calling for reform to the consumer guarantee regime to make non-compliance a contravention — similar to unfair contract terms. Currently the guarantees are the top issue for complaints to the ACCC, and they can lead to millions in penalties even though they don't have the force of law. Special Counsel Amelia McKellar takes us through these paradoxes and what the ACCC wants to do about them. Plus the Budget fallout for competition laws and agencies, variations on Louis Dreyfus and cotton, the ACCC's reports on airline competition and data firms, and the evolution of search engines and how to opt out of it … All this and more time travel with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.    Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

G+T alumna Romany Webb joins us from the Sabin Centre for Climate Change Law at Columbia University to talk about regulatory approaches to carbon dioxide reduction and removal on the critical path to net zero and beyond. Plus rethinking no-poach and non-compete agreements and competition law, more greenwashing action from ASIC and the ACCC, sky-high penalties for Qantas while Bonza is grounded, things get complicated at the Supermarket Prices Inquiry, and the history of Monopoly from Lizzie Magie to Barbie™. All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.  The British Library on Lizzie Magie and the history of monopoly Suki's pink Honda S2000 at the Petersen Automotive Museum  Treasury Consultation on Worker Non-Compete Clauses and Other Restraints and Assistant Minister Leigh's speech G+T on the ACCC's action on Glad bags and ocean plastics The Senate Greenwashing Inquiry hearings and ASIC Chair Joe Longo's speech on greenwashing and greenhushing G+T on the Qantas settlement with the ACCC The Senate Supermarket Prices Inquiry Final Report and MLex on its implications for merger reform  AFR on the PE firm behind Bonza Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

In this bonus episode, we rejoin the ESG, Sport and Human Rights Forum, where host Moya Dodd spoke with Women's World Cup winner Mary Harvey, now the CEO of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, and Rachel Davis, co-founder of the Shift Project and former independent chair of FIFA's Human Rights Advisory Board,  about culture, sustainability, leadership and change through a human rights approach in the world of sport.   Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

The biggest shakeup of merger regulation in Australia in 50 years is coming into view. Partners Elizabeth Avery and Louise Klamka take us through the major changes and the devilish details that still need to be settled, with additional commentary from partner Simon Muys and winning visualisations from Treasury. Is this faster, stronger and simpler, or just harder? More transparent or less accountable? Plus grocery inquiries and divestiture powers, Soviet industrial policy, irrebuttable presumptions and the ACCC looks for a meeting of the minds with the High Court on the nature of threats and understandings. All this and Rebel Wilson with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of The Competitive Edge podcast.  Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Anne Catherine Faye, Economist and Counsel to the Chair of the American Bar Association's Antitrust Section, takes us through the complicated landscape of antitrust, economics and sustainability in the US and beyond. Plus the Department of Justice goes bobbing for Apple, the Epic case gets underway in Australia, the Full Federal Court overturns the ACCC's win against the CFM(M)EU, and the Productivity Commission gets back in the game with the new National Competition Policy. All this and the Franklin's Tale with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein and senior correspondent Anna Belgiorno-Nettis.  US v Apple press release, press conference and complaint MLex reporting on the Epic v everyone hearing ACCC v CFM(M)EU Round 1, Round 2 and the ACCC's application for special leave to appeal to Round 3 The Marx Brothers on the secondary boycott provisions C&C (music f) Act (ory) megamix Productivity Commission's assessment of proposed National Competition Policy reforms Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au

Change is the only constant, but even change is changing as partner Andrew Low joins us to talk about digital regulation, digital ecosystems and digital payments, and the fight over access to a tiny part of your phone. Plus more constant than change in the ACCC's 2024–25 compliance and enforcement priorities, Epic's battle royale against Google and Apple lands on our island, gatekeepers land their European beachheads on DMA-day, ex-ante regulation proves to be easier said than done, and surf'n'turf at the Qteq cartel hearing. All this and our politicians' favourite films with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.  Our update on the ACCC's 2024-25 compliance and enforcement priorities Our update on the ACCC's focus on consumer guarantees Our annual Competition + Consumer Law Insights publication for 2023-24    Dr Andrew Leigh in the Australian Book Review The Barbie edition of Monopoly Results of the RBA's 2022 Consumer Payments Survey MLex's coverage of the ACCC v Qteq and Epic v Apple and Google hearings   RIP Kingsleys Brisbane Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team  Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au