Podcast appearances and mentions of Rod Sims

With Bonza gone and Rex fighting for its life in voluntary administration, the spotlight has once again turned to an old argument: that slot allocation at Sydney Airport unfairly advantages the major players. As the federal government looks to put Sydney slot management out to tender, do Qantas and Virgin really have their thumbs on the scales, as former ACCC chair Rod Sims has suggested? Adam and Jake look at the arguments on each side and the other factors that played into Bonza and Rex's respective failures. Plus, Boeing appoints an engineer as its new CEO – is this a positive sign for the planemaker's culture, or will the same old failures continue?

When Rex grounded its capital city services and entered into voluntary administration last week, it joined a long queue of airlines that have unsuccessfully challenged Qantas and Virgin's duopoly. The former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims argues this was caused by ‘public policy failure' over the allocation of slots at Sydney airport. Guardian Australia's transport and urban affairs reporter Elias Visontay speaks to Tamsin Rose about how a lack of competition means that consumers are going to continue paying more for less

Westpac Chief Economist proposes indexing tax rates to help ease bracket creep, former ACCC chair Rod Sims shares his vision of a green energy superpower nation, and Bapcor's former CEO speaks for the first time about the failing retailer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How Australian firms and workers can seize the extraordinary economic opportunities of the post-carbon world.

Our guest today has been a leading voice in the economic case for managing climate change since before net zero was a thing. In addition to authoring two landmark papers on climate change and Australia's future in 2008 and 2011, Ross Garnaut was the principal economic adviser to Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke from 1983 to 1985, and Australian Ambassador to China from 1985 to 1988.Now he and former ACCC chair Rod Sims have launched the Superpower Institute, which is designed to provide analysis to help Australia take advantage of the economic opportunities of the post-carbon world.Ross Garnaut explains the mission of the Superpower Institute and why he still believes Australia isn't a pissant country when it comes to managing climate change.

Support us on Patreon... Tennant, Luke and Frankie are calling all Summerupperers to come join the expanded LMSU universe and support our just-launched Patreon! Our hope is to make this passion project of ours a tad more sustainable. You can sign up here:  https://www.patreon.com/LetMeSumUp.---Your intrepid hosts have charged into 2024 and are serving you the hottest takes on the spiciest topics. It's good to be back!We kick things off by recapping Big Thinkers Ross Garnaut and Rod Sims' appearance at the National Press Club on 14 February where the duo presented some big think ideas on how Australia could acquire energy Superpower status. A Carbon Solutions Levy proposed on the carbon content of all fossil fuels produced in or imported to Australia would fund the Capacity Investment Scheme, building of new transmission and hydrogen pipelines and support early development in Superpower industries like processing iron, aluminium and other critical minerals for export. Is this a Deadpool/Wolverine bromance destined for critical success? Only time may tell! Our main paperThe Australian Government's hotly anticipated Cleaner, Cheaper to Run Cars: The Australian New Vehicle Efficiency Standard is out for consultation (you've got until March 4 people) and the scrutiny of your intrepid hosts. We have been talking about vehicle efficiency standards for donkeys' years and the Government is keen to no longer be in a club with Russia as one of two advanced economies left without them. An ambitious timeline to see us converge with proposed (OR ARE THEY) US standards by 2028 would push a big uptick of EVs in new vehicle fleets but will it all be down to our ability to COMPLETE A GOVERNMENT IT PROJECT in time? One more thingsTennant's One More Thing is ex-Bloomberg New Energy Finance charts maven Nat Bullard has published his latest annual chart-a-thon on decarbonisation progress. It is a nerdy datafeast with loads that is positive, some provocative, and a sprinkling of grimness.Frankie's One More Thing is the US EPA's introduction of a Waste Emissions Charge for methane on oil and gas facilities that exceed specified thresholds. Combined with rule changes announced at COP28 as part of their Methane Emissions Reduction Program, provides a roadmap other signatories to the Global Methane Pledge could be getting on with!Luke's One More Thing is riff on one of Garnaut's reflections in the Q&A following his press club address; governments of the past have taken on the task of making (and winning) the argument for doing Hard Things in the National Interest. It worked in the 1980s for microeconomic reform, can it work in the 2020s for climate policy? And that's all from us Summerupperers! Support our Patreon at patreon.com/LetMeSumUp, send your hot tips and suggestions for papers to us at mailbag@letmesumup.net and check out our back catalogue at letmesumup.net.

Electric cars have advantages but are still just that, demanding a spacious road network and copious parking areas in our towns and cities. "Why do Chinese EVs meet so much resistance?"; "Victoria's blackout crisis is rooted in a decade of Coalition inaction"; "Be brave, stay positive, find your tribe: three climate activists explain how to get started"; "Five women scientists working to save the world"; "Mike vs the fossil fuel machine: Push for a new legal duty to the environment"; "Climate case explores how law and tikanga intersect"; "Climate Is Now a Culture War Issue"; "Fearsome threesome: how a trio of climate drivers is baking Australia's west and leaving the east soaked"; "Ross Garnaut and Rod Sims have proposed a $100 billion-a-year fossil fuel tax – and it's a debate Australia should embrace"; "20°C seems the optimal temperature for life on Earth to thrive – what does this mean in a warming world?" "As the world heats up, solar panels will degrade faster – especially in hot, humid areas. What can we do?"; "Why Don't We Just Ban Fossil Fuels?"; "Climate chaos: world overheats while Europe faces a new Ice Age"; "Report: Plastics, Oil Industry Deceived Public on Recycling Use for More Than 50 Years"; "In Wyoming, Sheep May Safely Graze Under Solar Panels in One of the State's First “Agrivoltaic” Projects"; "Q&A: Everyday Plastics Are Making Us Sick—and Costing Us $250 Billion a Year in Healthcare"; "Take a Cue From Texas: Socialize Energy"; "As the Number of American Farms and Farmers Declines, Agriculture Secretary Urges Climate Action to Reverse the Trend"; "February on course to break unprecedented number of heat records"; "Very cool: trees stalling effects of global heating in eastern US, study finds"; "Climate Change Is Forcing Families Into a New Kind of Indefinite Hell"; "Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View"; "Power struggle: fears for UK energy generation as green projects delayed"; "Weather tracker: Flash flooding in Oman and record temperatures in Western Australia"; "Problems mount for Sahara gas pipeline, leaving Nigerian taxpayers at risk"; "Switzerland proposes first UN expert group on solar geoengineering"; "Blended finance can perpetuate climate colonialism"; "How your editors deal with climate grief"; "Last month was the world's warmest January on record"; "Danish photos from the 1930s show what Greenland's glaciers used to look like"; "The essentials of climate scenario analysis for financial institutions"; "How to prepare for an evacuation"; "‘They lied': plastics producers deceived public about recycling, report reveals"; "California Tried to Ban Plastic Grocery Bags. It Didn't Work."; "Climate activists dump pink powder on case containing US Constitution"; "What a waste: New York City budget cuts eviscerate community composting groups"; "Explainer: How climate change affects Europe's farmers"; "A traditional automaker just turned a profit on EVs"; "1.7 million deaths in cities linked to air pollution with Delhi ranked worst in world – report"; "Bhavreen Kandhari's Post"; "Mystery over ‘unexpectedly large' emissions from Africa's tropical ecosystems"; "British Gas profits surge tenfold as energy bill rules relaxed"; "Parts of Amazon rainforest could tip toward collapse by 2050, study warns"; "The Age of the Urban Inferno Is Here"; "Ross Garnaut and Rod Sims have proposed a $100 billion-a-year fossil fuel tax – and it's a debate Australia should embrace"; "Porsche EV will lead Bathurst 500 into a greener, faster future"; "How China Built BYD, Its Tesla Killer"; "Author Spotlight on Joëlle Gergis"; "Oldest platypus found in the wild is ‘beyond all our expectations', say researchers"; "Push to weatherproof Australia's electricity grid as 77,000 still without power in Victoria"; "Postcards from Kamikatsu: Japan's 'zero waste' town"; "National Archives closes after climate change protesters dump red powder on U.S. Constitution". --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robert-mclean/message

CEO of Good for the Hood, Jo Taranto (pictured) sees the circular economy as the solution to climate change, as she said on a recent webinar organised by The Australia Institute. "Smart Energy 2024"; "Climate experts sound alarm over thriving plant life at Greenland ice sheet"; "This Arctic Circle Town Expected a Green Energy Boom. Then Came Bidenomics."; "January Was Awash With Extreme Winter Storms. Climate Change Likely Played a Role"; "Migrants can be a transformative force for sustainable development"; "Fences have big effects on land and wildlife around the world that are rarely measured"; "Sweltering Cities panel warns Brisbane heatwaves will worsen"; "Climate-driven migration overtakes Russian aggression as biggest security concern, report finds"; "Australian fossil fuel tax could raise $100bn in first year alone, Rod Sims and Ross Garnaut say"; "Rise in e-scooter injuries concerns doctors"; "Global military spending hits record $2.2 trillion amid multiple wars"; "What is a circular economy?"; "The Heavy Price of Next-Day Delivery"; "Sweltering Cities panel warns Brisbane heatwaves will worsen"; "Climate change is forcing Australians to weigh up relocating. How do they make that difficult decision?"; "Greenland's ice sheet melting faster than scientists previously estimated, study finds"; "A Collapse of the Amazon Could Be Coming ‘Faster Than We Thought'"; "The Racist Origins of 'Tipping Point'"; "‘Litigation terrorism': the obscure tool that corporations are using against green laws"; "Nearly 15% of Americans deny climate change is real"; "Transitioning to a Circular Economy: The value and opportunity for citizens". --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robert-mclean/message

Former competition czar Rod Sims emerges as chair of Superpower Institute, promoting Australia's low cost green energy opportunity, and fighting the info war. Plus: Big battery boom.

Don Farrell is urging a united push to bring people back to an Adelaide CBD still reeling from hammer blows of Covid shutdowns and a work-from-home exodus.Adelaide's property market has experienced huge capital growth over the past decade, with house values in one Adelaide suburb increasing by almost $1 million in that time.South Australia has the potential to reverse decades of economic decline and turn itself into a national powerhouse if it fully embraces the switch to renewable energy and net zero emissions, according to former competition boss Rod Sims.AND.. Cashed-up golf fans are expected to inject tens of millions of dollars into the local economy during this weekend's LIV Golf event, which has been dubbed “the biggest advertisement for Adelaide and South Australia in the world”.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amazon will be shutting down Amazon Academy, an online learning platform it launched in India for high-school students last year, TechCrunch reports. Ultraviolette Automotive, an EV technologies company, yesterday announced the commercial launch of its first product, a high-performance motorcycle called F77, starting at an ex-showroom price of Rs. 3.8 lakh. And Transition VC plans to raise Rs. 400 crore for its first fund. Notes: Amazon will be shutting down Amazon Academy, an online learning platform it launched in India for high school students last year, TechCrunch reports. Amazon will wind down the edtech service in a phased manner starting August 2023. Those who signed up for the current academic batch will receive a full refund, according to TechCrunch. India's first roundtable on the changing dynamics between big tech and digital media starts online today, with the Digital News Publishers Association as the event host, The Hindu reports. During the webinar, the event's keynote speaker will be Rod Sims, an economist and former chair of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. The session will largely cover antitrust issues concerning the world's biggest tech companies, and explore how they affect digital media professionals. The Dialogues aim to bring together stakeholders from diverse sectors to help Indian news publishers understand how other governments have addressed the market dominance of big tech companies in their jurisdictions, according to The Hindu. Ultraviolette Automotive, an EV technologies company in Bengaluru, yesterday announced the commercial launch of its first product, a high-performance motorcycle called F77, starting at an ex-showroom price of Rs. 3.8 lakh. The bike is powered by an integrated 10.3 kWh Lithium-ion battery architecture in the top variant, the F77 Recon, that produces 95 Nm of peak torque and 29 kW (38.9 HP) of peak power, the startup said in a press release. The bike offers a range of 307 km per charge under test conditions, currently the highest for any electric two-wheeler in India, according to Ultraviolette. The bike is on offer in three colours and detailing, Airstrike, Shadow, and Laser. Deliveries of the F77 will start in January 2023, starting with Bengaluru. Earlier this week, the company also announced that it was expanding its series D funding round to include investments from Qualcomm Ventures and Lingotto. The money will help Ultraviolette ramp up its presence in India, develop its tech further and expand into international markets, the company said in a press release. Transition VC, an energy transition-focused venture capital firm has launched its first fund with a target corpus of Rs. 400 crore, including a green shoe option of Rs 200 crore, the firm said in a press release. Transition VC will make seed investments in startups in sectors such as e-mobility, green hydrogen, energy storage, net zero solutions for buildings, and climate tech. Founded last year by a group of entrepreneurs and professionals in Bengaluru, Transition VC will make investments ranging from $500,000 to $1 million to support up to 40 early-stage startups over the next three years. Before launching Transition VC, these investors have backed startups including Charge+Zone, a charging point network provider, and Exponent Energy, which is making EV batteries. Theme music courtesy Free Music & Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/freemusicandsounds

The government has flirted with, and now ruled out, changing the Stage 3 tax cut in the October 25 budget, which appears set to be dominated by some deep spending cuts. In the longer term, however, debate will continue over the need to reform Australia's tax system, as the calls on revenue to finance big programs increase.  Meanwhile, the government is locked in a battle to get high domestic gas prices down, with its light touch policy towards the gas producers not having much impact. In this podcast, Michelle Grattan talks with Rod Sims, former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), and now a professor at the Australian National University's Crawford School for Public Policy, on tax, gas and privatisation.

For five long days in February last year, Facebook enforced a nationwide blackout on Australia's news pages, in protest over proposed legislation forcing the tech giant to pay for content. But in addition to blocking news pages, it also managed to remove critical public-service information about bushfires, COVID-19, and even support pages for victims of sexual violence. At the time, the company claimed it was an accident, a quirk of their algorithm. But newly leaked documents suggest otherwise, confirming what many suspected - that the error was a deliberate bargaining tactic - aimed squarely at Australia's lawmakers.

Worldwide and in Australia, cartels eradicate fair competition in the marketplace to steal billions of hard-earned dollars from consumers, harming businesses and our economy. From poaching customers, rigging tenders to price-fixing – how does our system work to detect and prosecute the corporate giants muscling in on everyday consumers? Ever heard of cartel immunity? Find out how the ACCC protects those that spill the beans on cartel activity.    Hear it all directly from our host, KPMG's Dean Mitchell and Rod Sims, outgoing Chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Listen as they share how cartel cases are investigated, discuss the shady deals behind closed doors, and reveal what it takes to keep corporations honest to protect consumer and business rights.

The work and scope of the national competition and consumer watchdog, the ACCC, has grown dramatically in the past 10 years

Hello everyone,Today in the Crawford Media podcast I have a conversation, recorded last week, with visiting US journalist and professor Bill Grueskin. Grueskin is in Sydney at the invitation of the Judith Nielsen Institute (JNI) to engage with Australian journalists and educators - delivering lectures and sitting on panels - and to investigate the Media Bargaining Code. The code, you will recall, passed into Australian law a year ago amid much clamour and has subsequently lain dormant while Google and Facebook finalised deals with big and medium-sized Australian media organisations.It is a measure of how significant the code is as an international precedent that someone like Grueskin has turned up specifically to examine its effects first-hand.In the podcast we don't go into much detail about the code because Grueskin didn't want to pre-empt the report he is compiling for the JNI and the Columbia Journalism Review. I plan to check in with him in several weeks time, when he's finished interviewing and writing. He has already spoken to ACCC boss Rod Sims and I have the feeling that even if I don't agree with his conclusions - Grueskin is currently positive about the code - he will have some very interesting information to share.I enjoyed talking to Grueskin about his experiences managing newsrooms and the personal impact of the 9/11 attacks. We also spoke about Sarah Palin's recent libel case against the New York Times and the dysfunction it exposed at that august news operation.Grueskin has worked in senior positions at the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and the Miami Herald, among other publications. You get a comforting sense of solidity when you speak to him.Alan Moorehead and Cooper's CreekJNI have a double-streamed journalist-in-resident program, for Australian and international journos. Grueskin is the first recipient of the international fund, which is named after Alan Moorehead.Alan Moorehead - sounds familiar, right? When I heard Moorehead's name I just sort of nodded and carried on. But, having spent five minutes on Google, I now know the guy was extraordinary, and I also twigged I had read one of his books and loved it. My wife is Dutch, and her father was a great collector of books. After he died one of the books she salvaged from his collection was a battered copy of Cooper's Creek, packed up and sent back to Australia. Well, not sent back exactly. It was printed in New York in 1963, somehow ended up in The Netherlands, changed hands at least twice (there is an unfamiliar Dutch name scrawled inside), then came to my notice. I was mystified at what was described on the cover as “the magnificent nation-wide bestseller” (this was a US edition, remember).I set out on the literary journey without a great deal of conviction. A book from the 60s, much admired by the Dutch and Americans, about Burke and Wills and camels?Just magnificent, and hardly a jarring note. I now really want to make it to Cooper Creek myself one day. And no, I didn't spell that wrong. Somehow over the years, Cooper lost possession of the waterway.Until next week,Hal This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit halcrawford.substack.com

The UK's competition enforcer's approach to Big Tech has come to a fork in the road: it can either wait for its Digital Markets Unit to be empowered and operational; or it can pursue the global platforms with the tools already at its disposal. The Competition and Markets Authority may prefer to wait, but with lawmakers unwilling to commit to a timeline, antitrust officials may find themselves playing catchup. Also on today's podcast: Australia's top antitrust official Rod Sims announces a review of his agency's investigation of an alleged criminal cartel in the banking industry, following the collapse of the high-profile Citigroup, Deutsche Bank prosecution.

At a time when many small businesses are already struggling, a global energy crisis is promising to spark an electricity price shock. To make matters worse, it appears a large proportion of Australian SMEs are spending more than they need to on electricity. A study by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has shown 16 per cent of Australian small businesses are missing out on cutting their power bills by more than a third. The ACCC Chairman, Rod Sims, says saving hundreds of dollars can be as easy as making one phone call. Business Essentials Daily is produced by: SoundCartel soundcartel.com.au +61 3 9882 8333 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The "hipster antitrust" movement emerged in 2017 as young lawyer Lina Khan and others argued that competition law should embrace a wider variety of harms and benefits than the price-focussed consumer welfare standard.  The pushback was firm - including from ACCC boss Rod Sims - and hipster antitrust was consigned by many to the recycling crate of history. Fast forward to 2021 - Lina Khan leads the FTC and antitrust hipsters are quickly becoming mainstream. Betty Mkatshwa joins us to discuss how we got here and where we're going. Plus: criminal cartels that make you sick, rigged roofing allegations, and what Don Bradman's batting average has in common with committal hearings for the Federal Court. Subscribe to the podcast mailing list - https://bit.ly/3CZtndc  Links from the episode: "I am not an antitrust hipster, says Rod Sims", our report on the ACCC Chair's comments in 2018. Nod and a Wink newsletter on Hipster Antitrust. OECD project on Gender Inclusive Competition Policy ft. Betty Mkatshwa Justice Wigney's interlocutory decision in CDPP v Citigroup (No. 5) -- not the first time "shemozzle" has appeared in a Federal Court judgment but apparently the first time it has appeared as a catchword. Magic 8-Ball online Meet the Gilbert + Tobin Competition + Regulation team See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One in six mobile phone users believe they aren't getting good value for money from the country's major telecommunications providers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Australian government is in the middle of a fight with Big Tech companies Google and Facebook over the future of news in Australia. What's it all about? In two words: advertising money. In the digital age, advertisers have increasingly shifted to Google and Facebook, which give them more bang for the buck than news sites. With their advertising revenue falling off a cliff, and desperate to grow their reader base, news companies can't refuse to sell stories to Google and Facebook. On the other hand, the amount the tech giants pay doesn't make up for the ad shortfall. For every ad dollar spent in Australia, around 30 cents goes to Google and Facebook, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Both sides need each other: Google and Facebook need news providers' content; news providers need Google and Facebook to point readers their way. That should add up to a win-win situation that sees news sites getting paid what they're worth. But the tech giants are in a much stronger bargaining position: If a news site doesn't give them content, they can simply look elsewhere. The Australian commission wants to introduce a code to make sure that the country's media companies are not at a disadvantage when they bargain with Google and Facebook. “The aim of the code is to address the uneven bargaining position between Australian news media businesses and the big digital platforms who have clear market power,” said Rod Sims, the commission's chairman. The two tech firms are fighting back in the war of words, threatening to withdraw from Australia. This may be an empty bluff, but other countries are sure to be watching what happens in Australia very closely. (T) This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.

An Adelaide man has been arrested for replacing QR codes on official COVID-19 check-in signs with alternate codes and, in a unique bail condition has been required to not carry "loose QR codes" anywhere. A QR code scanned by a phone camera can resolve to any online destination, and the man allegedly was replacing the codes with links to anti-vaccination material. He was charged with interfering with operations related to COVID-19, which is a crime under South Australian emergency powers. The man faces a maximum penalty of a $10,000 fine.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has released its second interim report as part of its digital platform services inquiry, focusing on issues of Apple and Google App Stores and their dominance of digital distribution. In a statement, ACCC chair Rod Sims argues there are significant issues of market power, and the ACCC wants to target a number of issues, including transparency in how apps are made discoverable within the marketplaces, not allowing Apple or Google to use information about third-party apps to advantage their own, and allowing the use of third-party payment services for in-app purchases. The ACCC also wants to force better processes for payment disputes, subscription traps and other app scams. The report is part of the ongoing five year inquiry into digital platforms.In other Australian digital news, the Commonwealth Ombudsman has chastised Australian Federal Police for a "cavalier" attitude toward telecommunications data, in a report that found the AFP may have unlawfully accessed location information hundreds of times. The Ombudsman found ACT Policing was only fully compliant with access rules for location pings from mobile towers in 9 out of 1,713 cases over four years. The AFP was also under fire for failure to rectify or even disclose the issue after it knew it was in breach of the rules. The issues may bring convictions based on this evidence into question.CES is set to return to real-life face-to-face action in January 2022, with the Consumer Technology Association naming January 5 to 8 as the dates for the event's return to Las Vegas. The US has been rolling out vaccinations at an impressive pace, but the event's tradition of welcoming the consumer electronics companies and industry members from across the world may be put to the test as the pandemic continues to run out of control in many parts of the world. I still expect I'll be watching along from home again next year.We've largely tried to avoid NFT discussions here because we have issues with the way the technology currently operates, but a number of major announcements require mentioning. The CEO of Hasbro has indicated the company may consider NFTs for franchises like Magic The Gathering, while an NFT artwork of Chadwick Boseman has come under fire for commodifying the actor around the Oscars after his death last year. The initial flurry of NFT craziness doesn't seem to be behind us just yet.In entertainment news, someone has posted a review to Rotten Tomatoes that has ruined Citizen Kane's perfect 100% fresh rating. While the review was a new addition, it comes from a 1941 review in the Chicago Tribune from the time of the movie's original release. The film is noted for having received mixed reviews at the time of its release, but the new arrival drops the film to a 99% rating. The only film that remains on 100% certified fresh? Paddington 2.And finally, Netflix is launching a new 'Play Something' feature to get you over your decision fatigue and just, well, Play Something. The new button has been in testing since last year and aims to automatically start playing shows and movies based on the user's taste. The feature is rolling out worldwide today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Qantas begins trialling vaccine passport appJustin Hendry, IT NewsQantas is looking at introducing a vaccine passport app in preparation for the return of international travel.iTnews reports that the airline is testing the CommonPass app on repatriation flights which logs whether a passenger has either tested negative for COVID or has been vaccinated. CommonPass is not the only app being trialled. Qantas is also testing one developed by the International Air Transport Association. While the app will be limited to international repatriation flights, the airline will at some point integrate the functionality into its app.Qantas hopes to resume international travel from late October with passengers requiring COVID vaccinations to board flights.Culture Amp revenue soars, as workplaces face burnout challengeYolanda Redrup, AFR: Despite fears the COVID-19 pandemic would put a handbrake on employee engagement software company Culture Amp's growth, the $US700 million ($903 million)-valued company has recorded one of its best years yet, with revenue climbing 64 per cent.Former AMP Bank CEO Sally Bruce is now helping lead Culture Amp. Eamon GallagherFigures lodged with ASIC for the 12 months to June 30, 2020, showed Culture Amp benefited as workplaces around the world were forced to grapple with burnt-out employees and low morale during COVID-19 lockdowns.ACCC watching the clock tick as Facebook lags Google in striking news media dealsAsha Barbaschow at ZDnetA fortnight after the media code passed through Parliament, Facebook has only signed a revenue deal with one large organisation. Chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims was asked if there was anything that could be done to move this along.During a recent senate inquiry he said: "I'm happy to give it a bit more time and therefore not do anything at the moment.” According to media reports, Nine and News Corp are close to reaching deals with FB Netflix password sharing clamp-down could be pandemic bad newsJason Gurwin at The Streamable Earlier this week, some Netflix subscribers began to notice that it might be a bit harder to “borrow” someone's password.In the prompt, customers are told that “If you don't live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching.” In order to continue, they need to verify the account with a E-mail or Text Code, or create a new account with a 30-Day Free Trial. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The world watched as the Australian government passed a new law in February 2021 requiring Facebook and Google to pay news businesses for linking to their work. In the lead-up to its passing, Facebook followed through on its threat to remove news from its platform. But many viewed Facebook’s move as only reinforcing the government’s position that big tech had market dominance. In this episode of Big Tech, Taylor Owen speaks with Rod Sims, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The ACCC conducted a market study to determine if there was a market failure in the journalism sector. It found that Facebook and Google were benefiting from the local news industry’s content and that these businesses were unable to seek appropriate compensation. The ACCC’s recommendation, the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, creates a code of conduct that Australian news businesses can use to bargain with Facebook and Google, using the negotiate-arbitrate model. Taylor and Rod discuss how the ACCC came to the decision that a negotiate-arbitrate model needed to be applied, how the new code will function, why journalism’s role in democratic society is more essential than ever, and what these issues mean for the average citizen and social media user. 

#14. Entrevista a Rod Sims, da Autoridade da Concorrência da Austrália, que criou o Código que obriga as big tech a pagarem pelo jornalismo no país (e a polémica com o Facebook a banir notícias)

Today on the Breakdown, Google eats a brown sandwich, the ABC doesn't understand conservatives (there's a shock), and a new report from the US says there is no social media bias against conservatives - what have they been smoking?

Tody the most thrilling episode of The Breakdown ever - we're discussing digital platforms! If you care about democracy, news and your right to speak, this is an issue you can't afford to ignore.

The competition watchdog is particularly monitoring airlines, as COVID-19 disrupts the tourism industry again.

COVIDSafe app to get overhaul to capture all close contactsTesting by the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) on behalf of the federal health department has shown 100 per cent performance, scoring “excellent” in all operating modes.Local iOS developer Quentin Zervaas points out in a passionate twitter thread: In order to achieve “Excellent” for 2 locked iPhones (or as they claim, “100%”), there needs to be a third person nearby with an Android phone running COVIDSafe to facilitate key exchange.The app will be posted to github, for full transparencyThe new contract tracing API is available now to look at on Github, as it is made by VMware. The API is called Herald Continues Zervaas: “This is the system the NHS abandoned because it worked nowhere near as well as the Google Apple frameworkHe's linked to a BBC article showing why Herald was rejected by the NHS:Contact-tracing app: First version worked on more phonesBlack Friday online shopping comes in $9B, $3.6B on smartphonesAdobe, which is following online sales in real-time at 80 of the top 100 retailers in the U.S. said US consumers spent $9 billion online on Black FridayThat's up 21.6% on a year ago. Adobe had originally forecast sales of between $8.9 billion and $9.6 billion.Cyber Monday - today - is expected to be bigger again No local numbers yet, but so far I've resisted the bargain huntTelstra set to pay AU$50m for unconscionable sales to 108 Indigenous AustraliansTelstra has copped a $50m fine from the ACCC for unfairly targeting indigenous Australians with post paid phone contractsStaff in five Telstra licensed stores manipulated credit assessments, such as saying the customers were employed, to sign them up. Once the debts were accumulated, Telstra then referred a portion of them to debt collectors.The average debt was $7,400 per customerAccording to the ACCC chair Rod Sims said. "Many of the consumers spoke English as a second or third language, had difficulties understanding Telstra's written contracts, and many were unemployed and relied on government benefits or pensions as the primary source of their limited income. Some lived in remote areas where Telstra provided the only mobile network.""This case exposes extremely serious conduct which exploited social, language, literacy, and cultural vulnerabilities of these Indigenous consumers," Raspberry Pi Used To Hack Tesla Model X SUV Key FobIn a story that Elon Musk fans will take with grace and good humour, Tesla's key fob has been defeated with a $40 Raspberry Pi According to this Tom's Hardware story, a Belgian PhD student managed to wrest full control of a Tesla Model X SUV, by way of hijacking the Bluetooth keyfob and reprogramming it, using a Raspberry Pi.Tesla has since issued a software update to protect against that kind of attackSince the attack is done via Bluetooth, control could be gained wirelessly from 5 meters away.According to the article this is the third time the same student "has... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Australia's news media is one of the most highly concentrated in the world. Since 2019, more than 157 newsrooms have closed in Australia and many local, community and rural newspapers have ceased printing or gone digital only. It was in this climate that in 2018 the federal government tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to undertake a digital platforms inquiry to measure the impact of the major digital platforms Google and Facebook on Australian news businesses. The ACCC recommended a mandatory media bargaining code for digital platforms to ensure that Australian news organisations are paid for original journalistic content which is shared on the digital platforms. Google and Facebook responded by warning its users about the code and Facebook threatened to block Australian content and users. In this episode the Chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims talks with The Australia Institute's Chief Economist Richard Denniss about the mandatory code and the fight he's taken to the global digital giants. This episode was recorded live on 17 September, 2020. The Australia Institute // @theAUSInstitute Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director at the Australia Institute // @ebony_bennett Guests: Rod Sims, Chair ACCC, // Richard Denniss, Chief Economist The Australia Institute @RDNS_TAI // Producer: Jennifer Macey Theme Music: Pulse and Thrum Additional Music: Epidemic Sound

Malcolm Mackerras ranks Australia's PMs and analyses the upcoming elections in Queensland and the US, plus ACCC chairman Rod Sims discusses the $8.5 million penalty for iSelect and Maureen Jordan shares stories from Tilly Money.

Have you used Google lately and been greeted by a yellow warning saying that the way Australians search on Google is under threat? To understand why these messages are appearing, Media Files interviewed former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Professor Allan Fels, and CEO of the Public Interest Journalism Initiative (PIJI), Anna Draffin (full recording above, recorded from home due to the pandemic). Read more: Google's 'open letter' is trying to scare Australians. The company simply doesn't want to pay for news This episode of Media Files is about world-first laws to be introduced later this year that will force Google and Facebook to pay for news on their sites to help fund public interest journalism. The yellow warning messages by Google (which also appear on its sister site, YouTube) aim to garner public support for a campaign to pressure the federal government to dump revenue-sharing laws planned for later this year. In a similar vein, Facebook’s Australian and New Zealand director of public policy, Mia Garlick, argued in the Sydney Morning Herald before the draft laws were released, that Facebook already provided top value to media outlets with billions of opportunities for publishers to monetise their stories, gain new paying subscribers, serve ads, and keep Australians on their websites. And while Allan Fels said he’s not surprised by the tech giants fighting back against the new law, the public will expect the tech giants to “suck it and see”. “I think people will ask Google and Facebook to ‘suck it and see’ to see what turns out instead of just going home with a cricket bat or baseball bat,” said Fels. “It’s normal, it’s par for the course, in ACCC matters, that parties make threats […] with jobs, investment, higher prices, leave the country. Everything!”. Fels believes the Morrison government may well respond with a new digital tax if Google or Facebook pulls some business out of Australia, like it did in Spain in 2014. Then, the Spanish government charged Google copyright fees for using news snippets, so Google shut down its news service. “Personally, I think that the government has got this huge stick in the closet if Google walks or partly walks, and that is to put on a digital tax,” Fels said, adding that A digital tax is being talked about globally, mainly at the OECD. And virtually every member of the OECD wants to put a digital tax on the platforms except the US. Certainly the US under Donald Trump […] But even if the US continue to oppose it, I think a lot of countries are just going to proceed with their own digital tax. How did we get here? Following the ACCC digital platforms inquiry report last year, the consumer watchdog recommended the two tech giants pay Australia’s major newsrooms (excluding the SBS and ABC) an annual fee to use news on their sites. Anna Draffin and the big media companies agree with the ACCC’s findings that media companies cannot fairly compete with the digital platforms to win advertising revenue, and that this revenue shortfall has led to masthead closures and journalism job cuts. Draffin said its introduction is urgent as COVID-19 has accelerated the demise of many news outlets, particularly in regional Australia. At first, the ACCC was to oversee a voluntary code with the technology companies negotiating in good faith with the big news outlets. But, unhappy with the progress of the bargaining talks, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced in April the code would be mandatory. The government released draft laws in July sparking Google’s fear campaign warning its users that Australians “search experience will be hurt by new regulation”. In an August 24 blog post, Google argues it helps “more than 20 million Australians” and is unlikely to shut down Australian news from its search engines. Google Australia’s blog post said the firm helps ‘more than 20 million Australians and over one million businesses in Australia.’ Google Facebook contends news is just a fraction of the information on its platform and the mandatory code is unnecessary. ACCC chair Rod Sims, on the other hand, argues that News content brings significant benefits to the digital platforms, far beyond the limited direct revenue generated from advertising shown against a news item […] News media businesses should be paid a fair amount in return for these benefits.“ The mandatory code includes transparency measures to force the digital platforms to share data and insights about how it uses algorithms to rank news content online. Draffin said while the proposed laws are welcome, at this stage, they do not include the public broadcasters nor do they include smaller newsrooms with annual turnover under A$150,000. "The code alone isn’t necessarily going to be the solution particularly for that [smaller] end of the market,” said Draffin. “New market entrants would largely sit outside of any benefit from the code. So there could be room for a loan or venture capital fund for start-ups as a separate policy setting,” she said. Read more: In a world first, Australia plans to force Facebook and Google to pay for news (but ABC and SBS miss out) The draft laws force the companies to negotiate for up to three months or face a binding binary dispute resolution where independent arbiters determine the winning bid among the bargaining parties. Breaches of the news laws would attract fines of up to $10 million or 10% of a company’s annual domestic turnover. Public consultation into the draft mandatory bargaining code closes this Friday, August 28. Additional credits Theme music: Susie Wilkins. Image Shutterstock Andrea Carson receives funding from the Australian Research Council to examine public policy decision making and the media. She also has a Facebook grant to research misinformation in the Asia Pacific. She is affiliated with the Public Interest Journalism Initiative's expert research panel.Andrew Dodd receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with the Public Interest Journalism Initiative as a member of its research committee.

Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Rod Sims, says the commission has received 20 complaints from people who had booked with the houseboat operator.

Competition in the free market is best for everyone. Except when it's not. In the time of COVID-19, it most definitely is not. Rod Sims is chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. He says that when we are fighting a pandemic-induced war, the economy is flipped on its head. We must all work together to supply what people need, even if it involves co-operating with rival companies. But once all parties have sat at the same table, how do we prevent collusion after the 'war' is over?

BMW says: Stop driving our cars. Right now. Literally: Put down the keys and walk to the nearest taxi, and we’ll pick up the tab. Full details next. Save thousands on any new car (Australia-only): https://autoexpert.com.au/contact Did you like this report? You can help support the channel, securely via PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=DSL9A3MWEMNBW&source=url Here’s some confronting news for you, if you own an ageing 3 Series BMW: In an unprecedented move, BMW Shitsville is urging the owners of 12,663 E46 3 Series BMWs - built between 21 November 1997 and June 30, 2000 to stop driving those vehicles immediately. As in, today. Now. According to Rod Sims’s henchman - henchperson - at the ACCC, Delia Rickard: “Because of the critical level of risk, the ACCC urges people to stop driving their vehicle immediately and to contact BMW to arrange to have their vehicle inspected as soon as possible.” I’d suggest that conservative corporations and regulators in this sphere, such as BMW and the ACCC respectively, do not use terms like ‘immediately’ and ‘critical level of risk’ frivolously. Safe to assume this message is not clickbait. A new type of defective Takata airbag has been linked to what the ACCC is calling (quote) “an abnormal pattern of airbag deployments in Australia, Japan and the US”. Bottom line: the Takata airbag recall just got slightly bigger, and somewhat more serious. It’s being reported that these specific airbags have been linked to one death and one serious injury here - authorities are being a little cagey about the details surrounding that, however, because the death remains a matter before the coroner. The ACCC and BMW are collaborating and co-operating on this. There’s no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of BMW. You can check the VIN code online to see if your ageing 3 Series is affected at recall.bmw.com.au (repeat). Or call 1800 243 675 (repeat) - that’s a dedicated BMW airbag recall hotline - or drop into (or call) your local dealer. In a taxi. Keep the receipt. Or, better still: “BMW will arrange to tow your vehicle to repair facilities for inspection, or send a mobile technician out to your premises or vehicle’s location to inspect the vehicle.” - ACCC And here’s my favourite part of this story: “If your vehicle has been fitted with one of these dangerous airbags, BMW will arrange a loan or hire car or reimbursement for alternative transportation costs until airbag replacement parts are available or until other arrangements are made. You may also wish to discuss the vehicle being purchased back by BMW.” - ACCC This is an example of rock solid corporate conduct - a rarity in the car industry here, I think you’d agree. These affected vehicles are two decades old, but nobody’s being left out in the cold, and BMW is picking up the tab. You want to see robust commitment to the customer? This is it. Even if that customer is the second, third or fourth owner. I’m really not sure we’d see the same level of ethical conduct from the Monkey-gassers at the Volkswagen Group, or the three-pronged Swastika specialists at Daimler. So - complete respect for doing the right thing on this occasion. It could take the BMW as long as 18 months to replace any defective airbags - and that’s simply gotta be a supply issue. Hence the offer for loan and hire cars, taxi reimbursement, and/or buybacks.

ACCC has just released 619-page report on the power and impact of digital platforms on Australian media. To help us make sense of the report but to also see what it could mean for our media we have a special in-depth discussion with the chairman of the ACCC, Rod Sims.

A plan to revamp laws in Australia to allow law-enforcement agencies to read decrypted messages has pitted Canberra against US tech companies including Apple and Cisco, amid fears the bill’s current wording could weaken the privacy protections of encrypted messages. At the same time, Australia’s top competition regulator, Rod Sims, has warned that regulators around the world are facing tougher decisions on the competitive impact of mergers involving data-rich companies.

Victoria energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio talks about the state’s big rooftop solar initiative; David Leitch accuses Rod Sims of stepping over the line; and why price caps could cause bills to rise.

The way we consume news and media has changed dramatically over the past decade. Print newspapers are almost a thing of nostalgia and few of us wait to sit down in front of a television just to see what’s happening. Digital platforms are replacing media empires. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is conducting an inquiry into the effect that digital search engines, social media and content aggregators have on media and advertising. Rod Sims is the Chairman of the ACCC – a role in which he’s accustomed to industry upheaval and public controversy. In this episode of Competition Lore, Rod Sims outlines what's involved in scrutinising the platform goliaths, while admiring their business models and balancing the expectations of stakeholders. Here’s all the links for the ACCC’s Digital Platforms Inquiry, including the Terms of Reference, Issues Paper and Submissions. Featuring regular cut-through interviews with leading thinkers, movers and shakers, Competition Lore is a podcast series that engages us all in a debate about the transformative potential and risks of digitalised competition. Join Caron Beaton-Wells, Professor in Competition Law at the University of Melbourne, to tackle what it means to participate as a competitor, consumer or citizen in a digital economy and society. Competition Lore is produced by Written & Recorded.

Alan Kohler and guest co-host John Durie also ask when don't executives get bonuses? What's keeping CEO salaries down and how there's more men named Andrew than women in ASX100 listed companies.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The ACCC boss joins Miranda ahead of his inquiry into Facebook and Google See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Event podcast: Energy policy in 2017 has been constantly in the media headlines, driven by the reality of the impact of high prices and security uncertainty and the ongoing, intense politicisation of energy and climate change policy. The chair of the Energy Security Board, Kerry Schott, and the chair of the ACCC, Rod Sims, came together for our last Energy Futures forum for 2017 to reflect on 2017 and what we need in 2018.

With energy affordability a growing concern for Australians, Guardian Australia political editor Katharine Murphy talks to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims about what has gone wrong with the energy market and what is behind the rise in Australian power prices. They also discuss what, if anything, can be done to stop Google and Facebook making off with the advertising revenue that once bankrolled quality journalism

Few subjects stir consumer passions like rising electricity bills. With power prices more than doubling after inflation over the past 10 years, that’s hardly surprising. In this episode, the team dissects what has caused the surge in electricity costs. Hosts Jessica Irvine and Matt Wade are joined by two of Australia's leading commentators – economics editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, Ross Gittins, and economics editor of The Age, Peter Martin – to investigate. They explain how each of the three main components your electricity bill have put upward pressure on prices: electricity generation, the cost of the poles and wires and the margins electricity retailers are able to charge.  Stay tuned for the regular bad economics segment when Ross Gittins puts the boot into politicians for getting their "economics around the wrong way" when they talk about the cost of living. Got a question of your own? Email us at italladdsup@fairfaxmedia.com.au, tweet using the hashtag #italladdsup or call the podcast hotline on 02 9282 1632 to leave a message.

This week I speak to the boss of a little Aussie ISP which has a strong commitment to customer service and actually providing you with the speeds you want. Plus, it's time for you to help - if you have the NBN get involved in the ACCC's speed monitoring program I speak to Rod Sims about that, Tim Falinski from Trend Micro joins me to talk Ransomware and remind us how important being protected is, and lots of calls from Roaming to Security - I've got you covered on Your Tech Life.

This week I speak to the boss of a little Aussie ISP which has a strong commitment to customer service and actually providing you with the speeds you want. Plus, it's time for you to help - if you have the NBN get involved in the ACCC's speed monitoring program I speak to Rod Sims about that, Tim Falinski from Trend Micro joins me to talk Ransomware and remind us how important being protected is, and lots of calls from Roaming to Security - I've got you covered on Your Tech Life.

This week I speak to the boss of a little Aussie ISP which has a strong commitment to customer service and actually providing you with the speeds you want. Plus, it's time for you to help - if you have the NBN get involved in the ACCC's speed monitoring program I speak to Rod Sims about that, Tim Falinski from Trend Micro joins me to talk Ransomware and remind us how important being protected is, and lots of calls from Roaming to Security - I've got you covered on Your Tech Life.

Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Rod Sims speaks about why privatisation should be done for efficiency, not for money windfalls. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/ Join the CIS as a member at - https://www.cis.org.au/join-cis/ Follow CIS on Socials Twitter - https://twitter.com/CISOZ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CentreIndependentStudies/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-centre-for-independent-studies/?viewAsMember=true

This week, a year on from the ACCC's Byron Bay intervention, we speak with the Chair of the ACCC, Rod Simms, about the ACCC's role and function and the steps they are taking to ensure that what you see on the label is a true reflection of what's behind the beer. Apologies for the audio quality with this interview. It was a great chat down a terrible phone line. But first, we speak with Tim Wills from Premier Stainless. As the craft beer industry in Australia expands so too does the demand for quality stainless equipment. The recent demise of Core Brewing Concepts hurt a number of brewers – so what should you look for when you order a brewery? Should you pay in full? What are the Australian standards? Tim Wills joins the program with a primer into stainless steel. During the interview Tim mentions a sample quote for a stainless system, you can download that here. You can also download the Premier Stainless brochure, with pricing here. Premier has been a previous sponsor of the Australian Brews News but this was not a sponsored interview.   Radio Brews News is hosted by Matt Kirkegaard and Pete Mitcham and is produced by Lachie Mackintosh. ___________________________________________________________________   Radio Brews News is proudly supported by and also by

This week, a year on from the ACCC’s Byron Bay intervention, we speak with the Chair of the ACCC, Rod Simms, about the ACCC’s role and function and the steps they are taking to ensure that what you see on the label is a true reflection of what’s behind the beer. Apologies for the audio quality with this interview. It was a great chat down a terrible phone line. But first, we speak with Tim Wills from Premier Stainless. As the craft beer industry in Australia expands so too does the demand for quality stainless equipment. The recent demise of Core Brewing Concepts hurt a number of brewers – so what should you look for when you order a brewery? Should you pay in full? What are the Australian standards? Tim Wills joins the program with a primer into stainless steel. During the interview Tim mentions a sample quote for a stainless system, you can download that here. You can also download the Premier Stainless brochure, with pricing here. Premier has been a previous sponsor of the Australian Brews News but this was not a sponsored interview.   Radio Brews News is hosted by Matt Kirkegaard and Pete Mitcham and is produced by Lachie Mackintosh. ___________________________________________________________________   Radio Brews News is proudly supported by and also by