Professor Deborah Healey offers her expertise on the competitive neutrality policy

13 December 2022 

By Dr Xue (Sophia) BAI

 

On the 10 November, Professor Deborah Healey spoke at the 2022 Business at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (BIAC) webinar on Competitive Neutrality. This event, which was organised by the OECD Competition Committee and the International Bar Association, built on the discussions held at the OECD’s 2021 event ‘Recommendation on Competitive Neutrality’ and the recent Global Forum on Competition session. Professor Healey has spoken at other OECD events online and in Paris, including on Competitive Neutrality and the Enforcement of Competition Laws against SOEs

Professor Deborah Healey’s panel was titled ‘Stuck in Neutral? Competition Enforcement and Competitive Neutrality in a Political World’ and addressed significant issues in the field of competition law including balancing competing interests in enforcement choices, serving constituents and consumers, addressing political influences, and assessing social objectives.  

Professor Healey stressed the importance of strong competition advocacy, transparency, and the independence of competition agencies. She observed the importance of ‘selling’ the benefits of competition to consumers, business, and the governments. Professor Healey’s speech acknowledged Australia’s highly regarded competition impact assessment and national competition policies around competitive neutrality, though she observed the significant gaps in implementation, which need to be reconsidered. 

Professor Deborah Healey spoke alongside five senior competition regulators and academics including Antonio Capobianco (OECD, Acting Head, Competition Division), Martijn Snoep (Chairman of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets), David Stewart (Executive Director, Markets and Mergers, Competition and Markets Authority), William E. Kovacic (Professor at George Washington University - School of Law (Washington), King’s College (London) and moderator John Taladay, Baker Botts (Co-Chair of the Antitrust practice of Baker Botts). 

You can watch the recording here (Passcode: *6uKQm=%). 

 

Professor Deborah Healey’s research can be found on the University website, SSRN, ResearchGate and LinkedIn