The Competitive Edge

Energy partner Jamie Guthrie and Competition partner Geoff Petersen give us some good news on the energy transition, along with the challenges that lie ahead -- what the governments and energy networks are doing, the impact of data centres, how to finance it all, and a quasi-carbon tax. Plus merger reform reform gets closer, serial acquisitions in pets and vets, carmakers pull a fast one and the ACCC is furious, and FIFA finds out … All this and Marty McFly with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: Dr Emmett Lathrop Brown PhD on 1.21GW The long-awaited Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026 More French leave in the Phase 2 Adelaide Hills vet merger , and the Microstar/Konvoy beer keg merger is 86ed The Furious 7 skydriving scene and the ACCC's case against Subaru The Hood's many defeats on The Thunderbirds The Nelson Review , aka the National Electricity Market wholesale market settings review RES Group's 1.21GW Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Shai-Hulud Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

That's a RAP: First Nations leaders Rachel Perkins, Fiona Jose and Shane Phillips join us at the Sydney launch of G+T's new Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan. What's a RAP, what's a Stretch RAP, what's our RAP, and what's the competition and consumer connection? Plus optimism and pessimism, model Ts and AI at the ACCC/AER Regulatory Conference, the Golden Globes lodge the Penske File, and the plan to wrap the Opera House. All this and more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: Things that Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped or wanted to wrap Jayde Richmond from the National Anti-Scam Centre at the Bannerman Competition Lecture AER's final decision on the Basslink conversion Marinus Link and Marinus Dijkhuizen G+T on the new mandatory standards for large-scale data centres and the Office of AI Bono at the 2003 Golden Globes (NSFW) Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Partner Elizabeth Avery gives us a world tour of new directions in competition law, theories of harm and merger review both here and overseas, and lessons from our role in the Paramount / Warner Bros merger. Plus news you can use on all the Phase 2s, declarations and exemptions in exceptional circumstances, scambling and other portmanteaux, and how to watch — and how definitely not to watch — The Odyssey … All this and — — — with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: Twenty Twenty Six on the BBC and the ABC How Perez Prado's Mambo No. 5 became that other one Coles's applications to the Competition Tribunal and the Federal Court L1 Dominette 01449's genome The Government's "exceptional circumstances" bill and the ACCC's class exemption The National Anti-Scam Centre's "scambling" taskforce and NSW's "betiquette" spot The Washington Post on all the ways you can watch The Odyssey Or you could read it! Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Partner Tanya Macdonald and Special Counsel Haidee Leung join us to talk about the first year of the new merger regime -- half-voluntary, half-mandatory -- how it started, how it's going, what's changed and the changes to come. Plus exceptional circumstances call for exceptional measures, the ACCC whacks Miyagi and probes Prime for unfair contract terms, and new rules target supermarket price-gouging … All this and the Anzac Act with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein . Links: The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix Is the Strait of Hormuz open? or Is the Strait of Hormuz closed? G+T on the ACCC's new powers to act in exceptional circumstances The ACCC's court action against Miyagi and Amazon for unfair contract terms ACCC media release , guidelines and the industry code on supermarket excessive pricing The ACCC's latest merger FAQs G+T on the latest changes to the merger control regime SBS on Anzac cookies and biscuits "Wogball: Australia's Beautiful Game" on SBS Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Andrew Leigh, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury joins us to talk about AI, the revitalised National Competition Policy, non-competes and unfair trading practices, and competition on the field and in the economy. Plus, marathons and ultramarathons, the ParaSkyWarBroDisco merger, the 'Australia Plus' UK social media ban, and the ACCC takes Grill'd to court for greenwashing … All this, and Ewar Woowar, with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: Richard Bachman at Lilja's Library Randy Bachman on pronouncing Bachman-Turner Overdrive Ultraman: Rising on Netflix and "Ultraman Teo" coming soon. The UK Government announces its "Australia-plus" social media ban Shakespeare's "Sonnet VI" ACCC's case against Grill'd press release , concise statement and court file AEC profile of the electoral division of Fenner Dr Andrew Leigh's speech on competition policy for AI agents Anna Goldworthy's "The God We Made: The Threat and Promise of Artificial Intelligence" , Quarterly Essay 102 Edward Woodward obituary with unexpected Judi Dench Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor Julian Wright from the National University of Singapore joins us to talk about competition and regulation up and down the AI stack -- from the chips to the chatbots and everything in between. Is it winner-takes-all or winner-takes most? Will the digital platforms displace the new labs? And do we need more regulation or less? Plus a competition conference is compliantly considered, Ampol/EG Australia is the first Phase 2 merger approved by the ACCC, the new-look unfair trading practices bill reaches parliament, and AI essays and encyclicals abound … All this and cinematic polycephaly with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: Michael B Jordan on playing identical twins Smoke and Stack in Sinners Three-eyed animals in Train Dreams and The Secret Agent ACCC approves Ampol's acquisition of EG Australia in first finalised Phase 2 Track the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Bill 2026 Damien Charlotin's AI Hallucination Cases Database Justice Needham, "AI and the Courts in 2025" Pope Leo XIV's Encyclical Letter, "Magnifica Humanitas" Prof Julian Wright, "Artificial Intelligence and Competition Policy" at ScienceDirect Anna Goldsworthy's Quarterly Essay, "The God We Made: The Threat and Promise of Artificial Intelligence" The Competitive Edge's cryptic crosswords , conspicuously inspired by Justice Wigney Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Lilla Csorgo, lay member of the High Court of New Zealand, joins us to talk about being Chief Economist in three different countries, approaches to ex ante regulation and merger control, being approximately correct vs precisely wrong, and whether fiction and economics have anything in common. Plus, the ACCC wins against Coles in its “was/now/had been” pricing case, the courts have thoughts on NSW Ports, competition and consumer initiatives in the federal budget, and competition and consumer concerns at the FIFA World Cup … All this and e-micromobility with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: Henry Ergas, " TSLRIC, TELRIC and Other Forms of Forward-Looking Cost Models in Telecommunications: A Curmudgeon's Guide " at SSRN Softwar by Thierry Breton and Denis Beneich at The Internet Archive Prose and plays by Dr Lilla Csorgo ACCC v Coles [2026] FCA 598 Mayfield v NSW Ports [2026] HCA 21 Summary and Judgment " Why Susie sells seashells by the seashore: Implicit egotism and major life decisions ", Journey of Personality and Social Psychology , 82(4) 469-487 Why all fire trucks are called Dennis Discover your Hogwarts House at Hatty Potter Wizarding World Julien Guyon, " Risk of Collusion: Will Groups of 3 Ruin the FIFA World Cup? " The Disgrace of Gijon on YouTube Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward delivered this year's Bannerman Competition Lecture (jointly hosted by the Business Law Section of the LCA and the ACCC), tracking the development of trade practices and competition law in Australia, the enduring influence of its first Commissioner and Chair and the challenges that lie ahead. Plus Woolworths and was/now pricing, Apple and app store access, and Mastercard and merchant routing in the courts; the future of cash revisited; and another Phase 2 review, this time for IAG and the RAC … All this and Bananaman with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

G+T Partner Geoff Petersen unpacks the regulatory response to the fuel shocks that are raising prices and causing shortages around the world, including security of energy supply and infrastructure, new demand from electric vehicles and data centres, and questions about fuel price gouging and domestic gas reservation.. Plus, the first quarter of the new merger regime and another round for the MicroStar/Konvoy acquisition, our new Solicitor-General of Australia, and the Wiggles deliver their product safety podcast … All this and a muse of fire with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: Derek Jacobi's "Wooden O" speech from Kenneth Branagh's Henry V Dire Straits, "Heavy Fuel" What was the googlewhack ? ACCC, "New merger regime off to a positive start" MicroStar/Konvoy on the new acquisitions register and the old public informal review register Attorney-General recommends Solicitor-General to Governor-General The Wiggles' podcast on button battery and toy safety The ACCC's weekly fuel price monitoring report G+T on the new maximum penalties for competition and consumer contraventions Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Legend emeritus Peter Waters and Partner Andrew Low take us through the rise and the risks of agentic AI in commerce and beyond: how AI agents can organise our holidays and even our lives, why we might or might not want them to, and how they interface with contract, competition and consumer protection law. Plus, Australia's highest individual competition law penalty in the Qteq case, and the US war against Iran brings concerns over fuel supply and pricing as well as limits on AI. All this and Maxwell Smart with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: The ACCC's fuel price monitoring updates Treasury Laws Amendment (Doubling Penalties for ACCC Enforcement) Bill 2026 One of the David Byrnes talks to the ABC about petrol prices The other one sings " (Nothing but) Flowers " Anthropic on its dispute with the Department of War and its preliminary reprieve (for now) Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Xmas in February: Partner Louise Klamka takes us behind the scenes of the ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities and what we can expect in the coming year -- a wake-up call for business and advisers, changes to the law and the three-body problem of competition law, consumer protection and ex ante regulation. Plus Phase 2 mergers join the school of hard NOCCs, Fortnite fans emote as Epic Games and Google settle up, and a slap on the wristband for Live Nation/Ticketmaster? All this and the Brisbane Olympics with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: G+T on the ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities for 2026-17 Notice of Competition Concerns summaries for Ampol/EG Australia and Coles in Kalgoorlie All about Spudshed Pantone 16-1350 TPG Amberglow and 17-1463 TCX Tangerine Tango The Premier League's statement on Manchester City's 115 charges Term sheet outlining the settlement between Epic Games and Google AFL and NRL footy at the Brisbane Olympics? Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Partner Liana Witt and lawyer David Holmes take us through the Australian government's plan to prohibit unfair trading practices -- with all the low-down on subscription traps and drip pricing, the tests and the penalties, and how businesses can prepare for the new rules. Plus, the ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities for 2026-27, what's going down down down at the Coles pricing hearing, and even more changes to the US antitrust landscape … All this and Buffalo buffalo with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Links: The Garden Palace Fire of 1882 G+T on the ACCC's compliance and enforcement priorities for 2026-17 Lian and David on the government's unfair trading practices proposal Buffalo buffalo and had had had had New York Times on Gail Slater's departure from the Antitrust Division What is a possession arrow in basketball or merger review? We're All Going to the World's Fair trailer Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Special Counsel Amelia McKellar joins us to explore merger control and microchips, industry policy and involution in the world's second-largest economy. Plus, all the news on the new and now mandatory Australian merger framework, G+T's new tool to navigate all those thresholds and forms, the proposed prohibition on unfair trading practices planned for 2027, and a whistleblower bounty in the US … All this and the accidental sad horse with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein.      Links: ABC on Australia's Central Western Standard Time Zone (UTC+08:45) The Criterion Collection on the Once Upon a Time in China series The consolidated Notifications Determination and the Forms Determination G+T on the merger changes that came into effect in January 2026 Our new merger assessment obligation tool: MerTL Possibly the best book written on the subject of turtle stacking US Antitrust Division and US Postal Service pay $1m whistleblower bounty Check out our episode on whistleblowers with Kieran Pender from last September No-one's far from anyone anymore with the OTC in 1990 The Guardian on the accidental sad/crying horse Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How to Host a Merger: In our special Antipodean summer edition, head of Competition Elizabeth Avery and co-head of Corporate Advisory and M&A, Costas Condoleon, share their experiences with Australia’s new merger regime so far, with a focus on multijurisdictional mergers, foreign investment, and global counsel. Notification thresholds, forms and fees, engaging with the competition and foreign investment regulators, information requirements and timeframes, conditions precedent and how to avoid gun-jumping … all this and board games with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of #TheCompetitiveEdge #podcast #competitionlaw Links: How to host a How to Host a Murder , original and reboot Our new merger review portal, Australia’s new merger regime: what you need to know All about drop bears , hoop snakes and fishing spiders Try our new competition-law-themed cryptic crossword and all our other ones Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Partners Simon Muys and Tanya Macdonald join us to ring in Australia’s new merger clearance regime – what's settled, what's still up in the air and how our clients are navigating the new world in the third but not necessarily final instalment of our webinar series. This episode may qualify for 1 CPD point depending on your jurisdiction. Plus Skarsgårds and Sarsgaards, trilogies of four or more, and our new MergerHub … All this and nothing more with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Check out our new hub on Australia's new merger regime: what you need to know Watch a video of the webinar Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh's announcement of refinements to the regime Skarsgårds in Murderbot on Apple TV, It: Welcome to Derry on HBO Max and Andor on Disney+ Desert wildflowers in Broken Hill The Matrix filming locations in Sydney Try our new competition-law-themed cryptic crossword and all our other ones Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb delivers a keynote at our recent forum on the new merger framework that's just around the riverbend: why the change, how to engage with the ACCC, and what's still up in the air. Plus the Chatham chat on fees, thresholds and first-instance decision-making, an agreement on unfair trading practices, the FTC loses its case against Meta, and former chair Lina Khan's new gig in New York … All this and movie posters with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of #TheCompetitiveEdge #podcast #competitionlaw #rrrjrrr Links: The complete The Rural Juror on 30 Rock Heraclitus/Pocahontas on social media market definitions (sing-along) FTC v Meta memorandum opinion Treasury Ministers announcement on unfair trading practices The Guardian on Lina Khan's new gig John McWhorter on mispronouncing Mamdani Drew Struzan and Richard Amsel movie posters Our new competition-law-themed cryptic crossword and all our other ones Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

DPSI 10 Your Seatbelts: Kate Reader, head of the ACCC's Digital Markets Branch and G+T alum, returns to unpack the landmark Digital Platform Services Inquiry, developments in Australia and overseas and greatly exaggerated rumours about the ACCC's digital team. Plus the newest conference on the competition mafia or knitting circle's calendar, the new acquisitions register hits its stride, and a hot potato for the Wiggles … All this and merger jokes with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein . [Links] ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb's speech at the Australian Competition Summit Julian Wright and Andrei Hagiu on Artificial Intelligence and Competition Policy The entire Digital Platform Services Inquiry 2020-25 Australia's lunar rover Roo-ver The Wiggles on button batteries and electricity more generally Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The new Scams Prevention Framework will kick in next year with codes of conduct and big penalties for failing to take reasonable steps to combat scams. Competition partner Jeremy Jose and Disputes and Investigations partner Antonia Garling take us through the impact on the telecommunications, digital platform and banking sectors and what this will mean for business and consumers. Plus more tweaks to the new merger process; a green light for Cuscal/Indue but last drinks for MicroStar/Konvoy in the twilight of the old regime, or mergerdämmerung ; and a new prohibition on excessive pricing. All this and our upcoming forum on the new merger system with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Moving On Up: Non-compete and no-poach restrictions in employment contracts in the government's sights, and Special Counsels Amelia McKellar and Kaushalya Mataraaratchi explain how long-standing exceptions to the competition law could be put on gardening leave. Plus subscription traps and Amazon's Iliad flow, Taylor Swift and Ticketmaster, Treasury on AI and the ACL, ASIC and ANZ, and a new Commissioner at the ACCC … All this and M People with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein. Breaking News: ACCC announces decisions on two of the eight remaining old school mergers on its register, waving through Cuscal's acquisition of payment facilitation supplier Indue Limited but opposing MicroStar Logistics' acquisition of the assets of keg pooling service provider Konvoy Holdings . Links: M People with "Moving On Up" and Loleatta Holloway with "Love Sensation" and "Ride on Time" The Final Countdown on the ACCC's public informal merger clearance register MN-01019 : Ampol's proposed acquisition of retail sites from EG Australia FTC and Amazon settle for $US2.5bn over Prime subscriptions FTC takes Ticketmaster to court over resales and price and ticket limits ASIC press release and press conference on ANZ agreed penalties Treasury's Final Report in its review of AI and the ACL G+T on Treasury's consultation on non-competes ABC on the rebel R360 league and eligibility for internationals Treasury and ACCC announce the new ACCC Commissioner Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kieran Pender from the Human Rights Law Centre joins us to talk about whistleblowers -- how they're protected, how they engage with regulators, the changes that could be coming, and how businesses can encourage accountability in their own culture and processes. Plus the new merger notification waiver form; firings, re-hirings and re-firings in the US antitrust agencies; Google wins, loses or draws on penalties; the ACCC's purple patch in cartel enforcement and the last informal merger reviews race for the finish line. All this and morels with co-hosts Moya Dodd and Matt Rubinstein of The Competitive Edge podcast. Breaking News: All three judgments and 750,000 words of the Epic Games and class action cases against Apple and Google are now available: Epic v Apple , Epic v Google and all the class action action . Justice Beach has indicated he may be up for additional reasons or judgments on the non-section 46 issues so we may yet break the million-word mark. Links: G+T's analysis of the draft Waiver Notification form CJ John Roberts stays the Appeal Court's stay of the stay Young MacGyver pilot The District Court's penalty decision in US v Google ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb's address to the Competition and Consumer Workshop New cartel enforcement actions in cranes and cauliflower Commitments and understandings in the Delta and BlueScope appeals Fisk S02E06 - "Snitches get Riches" on ABC iView The last days of chez public informal merger review Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition, Consumer + Market Regulation team Email us at edge@gtlaw.com.au Support the show: https://www.gtlaw.com.au/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.