ACCC/AER Regulatory Conference

9.10 am

Opening address

Regulating for resilience

Exploring the extent to which risks posed by climate change, cyber-attacks and disruptions to global supply chains should impact the way in which critical infrastructure (the power system, water and telecommunications) is regulated.

Chair: Lynne Gallagher, AER Board member

Speakers: Dr Jennifer Potter, Faculty Research Specialist, University of Hawaii

Dr Johanna Weaver, Professor, Australian National University

Nicola Hepenstall, Executive Director, The Insight Centre

Dr Liming Zhu, Research Director, CSIRO Data61

‘Move fast and fix markets’ – developments in digital markets in Europe and lessons for Australia

Keynote address by Professor Tommaso Valletti with Q&A

Chair: Kate Reader, General Manager Digital Platforms Branch, ACCC

Speaker: Professor Tommaso Valletti, Professor of Economics - Imperial College London, Adjunct Professor - Norwegian School of Economics

What is the role of competition in the energy transition?

With heightened government involvement in markets to facilitate the energy transition, coupled with the urgent need to decarbonise our very carbon-intensive economy, what’s the role of competition in the energy transition?

Chair: Catriona Lowe, ACCC Deputy Chair

Speakers: Dr Kerry Schott AO

Tim Jordan, Commissioner, Australian Energy Market Commission

Barry Sterland PSM, Commissioner, Productivity Commission

Martijn Snoep, Chair, Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (pre-recorded video)

‘Computers talking to computers’: The use of AI on both sides of the regulatory ledger

How businesses and regulators alike are using AI now and into the future, and how we ensure those uses are accountable, explainable, and lawful

Chair: David Abkiewicz, Executive Director Digital Platforms Branch, ACCC

Speakers: Dr Rob Nicholls, Senior Research Associate, University of Sydney; Professional Fellow, UTS Sydney Law

Deniz Kayis, Senior Lawyer, Australian Government Solicitor

Professor Kimberlee Weatherall, Professor of Law, University of Sydney; Chief Investigator, ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADM+S)

Regulating for disruptive telecommunications technologies

The delivery of telecommunications services is evolving, so how do regulators adapt their existing approaches to account for these new technologies?

Chair: Sarah Proudfoot, Executive General Manager, Infrastructure Division ACCC

Speakers: Tristan Gilbertson, Telecommunications Commissioner, New Zealand Commerce Commission

Creina Chapman, Deputy Chair & CEO, Australian Communications and Media Authority

Are we expecting too much from consumers in the transition?

Consumers and how they respond are key to achieving successful transitions. But given the pace and complexity of change through the push of policy makers and pull of technological advancement, the panel will discuss: are we expecting too much from consumers?

Chair: Joanna Gall, Executive Director, Compliance and Enforcement branch, AER

Speakers: Catherine Wolthuizen, Energy and Water Ombudsman (Victoria)

Brendan French, CEO, Energy Consumers Australia

Cynthia Gebert, Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman

Positioning water infrastructure to manage an uncertain future

Investment in water infrastructure will support water security, the net zero transition and climate resilience. The panel will consider the risks and opportunities presented by the National Water Reform agenda, as governments refresh their policy and regulatory frameworks.

Chair: Anna Brakey, ACCC Commissioner

Speakers: Joanne Chong, Commissioner, Productivity Commission

Stuart Wilson, Deputy Executive Director, Water Services Association of Australia

Alexus van der Weyden, Director, Frontier Economics

Networking drinks and conference dinner

Welcome from Stephanie Jolly, Executive General Manager, Consumers, Policy and Markets, AER

Electrification and the disruption to domestic gas markets

What is the implication of increased electrification on the sustainability of the gas market domestically and internationally, as well as for consumers?

Chair: Jarrod Ball, AER Board member

Speakers: Tony Wood AM, Energy Program Director, Grattan Institute

Evette Smeathers, Executive General Manager Customer & Community, Horizon Power

Rebecca Pickett, Head of Future of Gas Policy, UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets

In conversation with Professor Sir Dieter Helm: an exclusive pre-recorded interview

The ACCC’s Angela Woo speaks to Dieter Helm about whether regulators are fit for purpose, regulatory activism and his recently published book Legacy: How to build the sustainable economy.

Interviewer: Angela Woo, General Manager Gas Markets Branch, ACCC

Speaker:  Sir Dieter Helm, Professor of Economic Policy, University of Oxford; Fellow in Economics, New College University of Oxford

The challenge of enforceable regulatory frameworks in a rapidly changing world

The challenges and opportunities presented by the complexities of new and emerging legislative frameworks.

Chair: The Hon John Middleton AM KC, Former Justice of the Federal Court of Australia; Senior Advisor, DLA Piper

Speakers: Catherine Dermody, Counsel

Meredith Leigh, First Parliamentary Counsel, Office of Parliamentary Counsel

Geoff Purvis-Smith, General Counsel, AER

The Great Debate

The famous Regulatory Conference debate returns, moderated by Justin Oliver, AER Deputy Chair.

Moderator: Justin Oliver, Deputy Chair AER

Closing address