BARNZ was surprised to see that the Australian Productivity Commission did not think there were significant problems with airport regulation in Australia and wanted to have our say.

We have provided our feedback on the Productivity Commission’s Draft Report, identifying lessons from New Zealand that should be of interest in the Australian context.

In particular, we have emphasised that the airline sector is strongly competitive so the regulator can be confident that if airlines secure lower airport prices (by way of tougher regulation on airports) these lower costs will be passed through to consumers.

We have also described some features of the New Zealand regulatory regime that may be of value in Australia, such as asking the regulator to set a benchmark rate of return that can then be used as a starting point for price negotiations between airports and airlines.

BARNZ Executive Director, Justin Tighe-Umbers, will also be presenting our views to the Productivity Commission in Melbourne on 29 March.

You can read our submission here.