ACCC proposes to allow Central Queensland green waste tender

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has made a draft decision which proposes to allow the Central Queensland Local Government Association, acting on behalf of its five member councils, to conduct a regional tender for the provision of green waste mulching services.

The CQLGA's member councils are the regional councils of Banana Shire, Rockhampton, Central Highlands, Gladstone and Isaac.

In the past the councils have encountered difficulty attracting green waste mulching services to the regional areas of Central Queensland and individual green waste contracts have proved expensive. The proposed arrangement is intended to address these problems.

"The CQLGA's arrangement is designed to enable its member councils to obtain a more cost effective and resource effective contract across their region," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said. The ACCC proposes to authorise the arrangement for five years.
 
Authorisation provides immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Act. Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment. The ACCC conducts a comprehensive public consultation process and issues a draft determination before making a decision to grant or deny authorisation.

The ACCC's draft determination will be available from the ACCC website.

The ACCC invites submissions from interested parties in relation to the draft determination before making its final decision. Parties wishing to make submissions should do so by 6 December 2010. Please refer to the website for further information about making a submission to the ACCC.