By NOEL MURPHY
AUSTRALIAN Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is investigating allegations the Geelong Advertiser has engaged in predatory pricing activities since the arrival of competitor The Weekly Review.
Geelong real estate agents told the Independent that ACCC representatives had interviewed them in sessions of up to 45 minutes as the corporate watchdog gathered information on alleged advertising rate cuts, kickbacks and free deals.
The agents said “a great deal” was going on “behind the scenes” with ACCC.
The ACCC refused to comment on its inquiries.
The agents, who declined to be identified, said the ACCC initially contacted them by telephone and later arrived for interviews, sometimes with multiple investigators.
“They were gathering information regarding rates, what we were paying, what we’re up against now and regarding other publications,” one agent said.
“I’d been told by Advertiser staff there would be a war and that News (Corp) had deep pockets and would try to push The Weekly Review out of the marketplace.”
Another agent said the ACCC was trying to establish what agents who moved their advertising between The Weekly Review and the Advertiser paid “before and after and whether the rates were anti-competitive”.
Another accused the Advertiser of using “heavy-handed tactics” since the arrival of the The Weekly Review.
“It’s basically a fact-finding mission. They’re gathering their information and lining up their ducks.”
MMP, which publishes The Weekly Review, declined to comment.
News Corp Australia corporate affairs said: “Thank you for the opportunity but we are not going to comment”.
