Dear Australian Competition and Consumer Commission,

Under FOI I seek access to a document or documents that contain details of the arrangement or proposed arrangement between Mr Sims and Dr Nahan (or the WA Government) whereby Mr Sims will regulate the business [of Western Power] in the future.

Background: There is no information on government websites to indicate that Mr Sims or the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission regulates Western Power in terms of prices Western Power charges now or in the future. To assist the FOI officer to identifying relevant documents the following media extracts may assist. I assume documents exist because there is no public indication that Mr Sims has complained about Dr Nahan’s assertion, “Rod Sims, who actually will regulate the business in the future…….

Media extract 1 Ellenbrook rail a Labor

“ Ramping up pressure on Labor for its refusal to submit its policies to Treasury for costing, Dr Nahan claimed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chief Rod Sims had “intervened” in the State election by stating electricity bills would be lower after the part sale of Western Power.
Mr Sims told The West Australian this week power prices would be lower because the new owner would be more efficient.”

https://thewest.com.au/politics/state-el...

Media Extract 2 Govt plays up ACCC backing of Western Power sale

The Barnett government has seized on comments by Australia's competition chief Rod Sims that plans to privatise Western Australia's poles and wires utility, Western Power, would lead to lower prices, while Labor leader Mark McGowan has claimed a re-elected Liberal government would also sell Water Corporation.

Mr Sims told media reports a new private owner would run it more efficiently, and he believed the regulator would ensure those efficiencies resulted in lower prices for consumers.

Treasurer Mike Nahan said Mr Sims' comments showed up union and Labor lies about the planned 51 per cent privatisation of Western Power leading to higher prices.

"Rod Sims, who actually will regulate the business in the future, says that's simply not true," Dr Nahan told reporters.
.
............................... [ This passage also appeared in the same article]

Last month, the Australian Services Union was forced to withdraw a pre-election advertisement in WA after Mr Sims complained footage of him warning privatisation leads to higher consumer prices was taken out of context.
He said he was referring to consumers paying higher prices when monopoly assets that were not well regulated, such as ports, were privatised.

https://www.businessnews.com.au/article/...

Yours faithfully,

JS

Dear FOI,

Thank you for informing me that the requested document does not exist.

The reported comment of Dr Nahan was:
“Rod Sims, who actually will regulate the business in the future, says that's simply not true."

Given the reported comment I assume “relevant staff” mentioned in the following extract from the ACCC letter includes Commissioners of the ACCC.

[ “The ACCC took the following steps to locate the document:
A thorough search of our databases to locate any information or documents that relate to your request;

Confirmation with relevant staff that no such document exists;

Based on the nil results of these steps, I conclude that the requested document does not exist within the records of the ACCC. which encompasses all records pertaining to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER)”. ]

Frankly, I think it unlikely Dr Nahan considered Mr Sims to be Ms Conboy,Chair of the AER.

Thanks again for your quick response.

Yours sincerely,

JS