PM declares war on spud board
The Abbott Government has declared war on WA's so-called "spud cop", with Small Business Minister Bruce Billson saying the Potato Marketing Corporation is a $3.8-million-a-year drag on the State economy.
Mr Billson, who will today receive the Harper review into competition, said he was "taken aback" by the extraordinary powers of WA's potato board and urged the Barnett Government to stop being a "spud laggard".
Considered a relic of post-war protectionism by its critics, the PMC licenses potato growers and effectively controls the price, quantity and varieties of potatoes grown across the State.
Red tape aside, the PMC also has draconian powers including the ability to search vehicles suspected of carrying more than 50kg of potatoes, demand drivers identify themselves and impound any "illegal" potatoes.
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The PMC can also fine growers who do not buy potatoes under its permit system or fail to grade or pack their crop in line with strict regulations.
Mr Billson said the draft Harper report had identified WA's spud cop as "not the greatest piece of public policy".
"Harper pointed to it as an anti-competitive policy measure that has a net detriment to the citizens of WA of about $3.8 million," he said. "WA has so much going for it. It is an international leader in so many ways.
"I'd hate it to be a spud laggard."
An Economic Regulation Authority report last year found restrictions on the WA potato industry imposed a multimillion-dollar cost on shoppers with higher prices, restricted choice and poor product quality.
Mr Billson said that report showed the State should only restrict competition where there was a clear net benefit to consumers. In the case of WA's spud cop, that benefit does not exist.
There is only one other similar government entity in Australia - the NSW Rice Marketing Board, which controls 99 per cent of the nation's rice market. National supermarket chains face heavy payments to the PMC if they bring potato varieties into the State that are already grown by local producers.
The payments, running in the hundreds of dollars a tonne, make it economically unfeasible to ship potatoes into WA.
Interstate producers have also found that because the State's potato supply has been controlled by a government body for so long, West Australians have not been exposed to varieties that are common on the east coast.
Mr Billson said WA consumers deserved the same access to potato varieties as the rest of Australia.
The Harper review's final report will also contain a set of challenges to the Barnett Government in other regulated parts of the State economy.
It will advocate abolishing retail trading restrictions and the complete deregulation of the taxi sector.
WA, despite some modest changes, retains some of the most restrictive retail trading hours in the country.
The review is likely to back a system whereby any outlet can open any time outside Christmas Day, Good Friday and the morning of Anzac Day.
The rise of the ride-sharing service Uber in the past 12 months has also highlighted the troubles States have in controlling the highly regulated taxi industry.
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