Given the interrelationship with the TPA, are there benefits from retaining the current Victorian cross-ownership provisions?
If the TPA-related exemptions to current Victorian cross-ownership restrictions did not exist, the issue would arise as to whether it would be desirable for the quantitative ownership restrictions to operate on a state basis or a national basis. This in turn raises two interrelated questions, which are: • whether the Trade Practices Act 1974 provides an appropriate safeguard for the pro-competitive structure of electricity supply industry or whether additional measures specific to the energy sector such as quantitative ownership restrictions should be contemplated • if the answer to the previous question is yes, then should those measures be introduced on a State-based or national basis? Turning to the second of these questions, the reason for the current Victorian cross-ownership rules rested on the fact that Victoria had implemented wide-ranging pro-competitive reforms for both the electricity and gas industries. As these reforms were not pursued to the same degree in other States, i
