Air New Zealand Ltd v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Trade practices – Restrictive trade practices – Price fixing – Market identification – Location of market – Meaning of market "in Australia" – Where airlines competed to supply unidirectional air cargo services from ports of origin outside Australia to destination ports within Australia – Where airlines arrived at understanding to impose various surcharges and fees for supply of air cargo services – Whether market for air cargo services "in Australia" for purposes of Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth).

Trade practices – Restrictive trade practices – Price fixing – Foreign state compulsion – Where airlines contravened s 45 of Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) – Whether conduct compelled by foreign law or foreign regulator's administrative practices.

Statutory interpretation – Inconsistency – Where s 13(b) of Air Navigation Act 1920 (Cth) required airlines to comply with "agreement or arrangement" – Where Australia-Indonesia Air Services Agreement "agreement or arrangement" within meaning of ss 12(2) and 13(b) of Air Navigation Act – Where Australia-Indonesia Air Services Agreement required agreement between international airlines on minimum tariffs – Where ss 45 and 45A of Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) prohibited arriving at understandings concerning prices with competitors – Whether ss 12 and 13 of Air Navigation Act inconsistent with ss 45 and 45A of Trade Practices Act such that latter did not apply to contravening conduct.

Words and phrases – "competition", "foreign state compulsion", "market identification", "market in Australia", "otherwise competitive with", "practically and operatively inconsistent", "price fixing", "rivalrous behaviour", "substitutability", "supply and demand".

Air Navigation Act 1920 (Cth) – ss 12, 13.

Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) – ss 4, 4E, 45(2), 45(3), 45A.