‘Corporate price gouging’: sleight of hand for troubled economic waters ahead

Do I like paying Qantas' prices? No. Do I think they are providing Qantas shareholders "excessive" profits? Again, No.

Red tape forcing aged care and childcare providers to charge more

Then there is childcare, which he at one point says has declined in price, but apparently price "gouging" is an issue because centres in richer areas charge more than those in poorer ones.

I guess they will, and it might have something to do with higher real estate prices, and having to pay more to the staff so they can afford to live within a commute of the centre. And maybe rich parents expect higher standards and are happy to pay for them.

He also expresses concern in passing about aged care, but it should be noted that both aged care and childcare are heavily regulated by the government to the extent that the federal government even mandated an increase in aged care staff numbers at the same time as it successfully advocated for an increase in staff salaries.

If costs are going up, then government action, not profiteering, has a lot to do with it.

If we want real competition, why not look at union movements?

It's ironic that one of the underlying themes of the report is the need for a competitive market.

I agree, and don't by any means believe that we have perfect competition.

But Mr. Fels is writing this report for the union movement, the one sector of the economy allowed to engage in what would, in any other sector, be cartel behaviour, and where the rules are deliberately rigged to try to exclude new entrants.

Why didn't Mr. Fels look at whether union fees are value for money, or whether there is gouging going on there? After all, competitor unions like the Red Union offer comparable services at half to two-thirds the cost.

He might also have asked about some of the accommodations the federal government has made to the union movement, such as abolishing the Australian Building and Construction Authority, which policed the building industry, particularly the questionable behaviour of the CFMEU.

Or policies that mandate the use of CFMEU members on building sites, resulting in a 30 percent increase in costs.

Members of Victoria Police stand outside the CFMEU Office in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 21, 2021. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)