WCB takeover prompts attack on competition laws at Global Food Forum

09 April 2014

The Federal Government needs to revisit competition laws if Australia is to take advantage of Asian demand for its food products, according to Murray Goulburn Co-operative Managing Director Gary Helou.

Investment adviser David Williams and Murray Goulburn Co-operative managing director Gary Helou took shots at the nation’s competition laws, which they said impeded medium-size companies taking over competitors to build scale to operate globally.

They were addressing the Global Food Forum in Sydney last week.

Mr Williams said there needed to be a sensible debate about balancing domestic competition policy requirements and how companies built scale to compete efficiently in global markets.

Mr Williams, managing director of Kidder Williams, was an adviser to Bega Cheese during the takeover play for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter.

He said the Government needed to look at how Fonterra was able to be formed from two big dairy co-operatives in New Zealand.

Read the full story at Weekly Times Today, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter takeover prompts attack on competition laws at the Global Food Forum, April 2