In Brief

The take-home message of an international report published this week was that the reluctance of Australian courts to impose big fines for competition-law offenses was putting at risk the law's power to deter illegal behavior. The country’s competition watchdog could have feted the findings — it has come up against the Federal Court’s cautious approach to penalties many times before. But the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission this week has been on a campaign of introspection, rather than smugness — suggesting the regulator may be playing the long game in seeking to come to terms with the court.