Under the terms of the Competition Principles Agreement (CPA) all parties agreed to reform public monopolies. While parties are at liberty to set their own reform agendas, the CPA sets out several principles on which all parties have agreed. Before competition is introduced to a sector traditionally supplied by a public monopoly, any regulatory responsibilities of that monopoly will be removed. In addition, prior to introducing competition and before a public monopoly is privatised, the Agreement calls for a review of the structure of the monopoly, including separating out potentially competitive elements, removing regulatory functions, implementing competitive neutrality, making a decision on how to deal with community service obligations, general governance issues, and price and service regulation.
