ACCC grants interim approval to Wiggins Island coal producers

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has granted interim authorisation to allow various coal producers to commence collective negotiations with QR Network for access to its Moura and Blackwater rail systems.

Access to these systems is necessary to transport coal to the new Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal to be built in the Port of Gladstone, Queensland.

The new terminal will be constructed in stages over several years, as mines in the region are developed. The applicants submit that certain Wiggins Island producers need to urgently secure rail access to support stage 1 of the terminal's development.

This decision allows producers and QR Network to accelerate current negotiations to secure rail capacity, which is also likely to facilitate the timely construction of the new terminal. Interim authorisation is granted in relation to stage 1 negotiations only and is conditional upon any access agreement entered into containing a condition precedent that final authorisation be granted by the ACCC.

Authorisation provides immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment. Interim authorisation allows the parties to engage in the conduct prior to the ACCC considering the substantive merits of the application.

More information about the Wiggins Island application for authorisation and the granting of interim authorisation, including the reasons for the ACCC's decision, will be available by following the Public registers link on the ACCC's website www.accc.gov.au.