(Out of sight, out of mind)
It is joked that hospitals run more efficiently when they have no patients. In the competition arena, we’re sometimes a little more serious about preferencing efficiency over real people, particularly consumers. Consumers, however, play an integral role in creating and maintaining competitive markets – a competition policy that assumes consumers to be mute and passive can result in consumers who are just that. But this behaviour itself leads to ineffective competition. So as we gird our loins for Election 2013, it’s worth remembering what we’re trying to achieve.