There is also a story that about 10-15 years ago Samuel put a proposal to King Richard that he was not interested in. Samuel apparently got his back up, said some nasty things and was basically frog marched out of Dick's office. Samuel has never forgotten and has now taken the chance to have a very cheap shot at Dick.

What a jerk! He was useless as a Merchant Banker and is no better at the ACCC. Carlton and Dick have done the right thing in ignoring Samuel and that useless t*rd masquerading as a journalist - Patrick Smith.

cartel shmartels .... years ago government regulated airlines industry TAA/australian/qantas and ANSETT ALL coluded there prices , petrol stations are all crooks too , SAFEWAY and COLES have a monopoly in this country . we are ripped of everywhere , Leave dick alone !

That's true....the Insulation business is another "controlled" industry....and everyone knows it.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

You talking about pink batts? Fletcher solutions?

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"You're not gonna believe this. The guy killed 16 czechoslovakians. He was an interior decorator."

"His house looked like shit!"

You all say "we're ripped off" yet none of you can prove how or why! So why even bother!

Best to give up Dr, I can sense your frustration. An old friend of mine is fairly high up in the ACCC and it seems like a difficult insititution with respect to people really understanding what it does.

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Freight companies were doing it for years

Why doesn't Graeme Samuel give Kevin Gosper (ex-Shell) immunity from prosecution - then I'm sure you will get your proof.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

But that's exactly what i'm asking........ how did dick pratt rip me off? And by how much approx? Cause i guarantee you it is nowhere near the amount i'm getting screwed from other corporations.

I posted this in another thread that is probably better suited in this one.



(posted in another thread)

Can i ask a question for those who are more knowledgeable and experienced on this issue that what i am (which means 95% of ya's)?

Are people blowing this up (pratt price fixing) purely because Pratt is the president of Carlton? Do they really know what he's done? Or is it a case of 'he's done something wrong so i'll bag him cause he's sucsessfull?'

Price fixing to me is really just a shrug of the shoulders..........we, the public, are getting ripped off every day.

Banks
Petrol stations.
Insurance
Taxes for shit that just is so stupid that it should be criminal.

Surely people cannot HONESTLY believe that Pratt is the only one that's done it?

The AFL need only look in their own backyard for evidence of price fixing.

Do we (and i'm talking the Australian Public) instantly dismiss all the good that Pratt has done becaause of his bad?
Does the fact that he has given THOUSANDS of aussies a stable job for a couple of decades not count for anything?
Do we now not care about the MILLIONS of dollars he has donanted to charity NOT TO MENTION HIS OWN PERSONAL TIME?

I reckon VISY's Recycling Division is one of the most important organisations Australia has at the moment.

So (and please forgive my ignorance on this issue - i wagged most of my school days) does this mean that all Pratt has done is rip me off a couple of extra cents for everytime i buy a product that has a box? To be honest i couldn't give a stuff. Take it as a tip.

I wanna know why I still have to pay tax/gst on fuel tax.
Or why i have to wait 7 days for a cheque to clear WHEN IT'S FROM THE flower RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA??????
Or.........more important that all of the above...........WHY I CANT AFFORD TO EAT AT THE SO CALLED 'PEOPLE STADIUM'?

Again, sorry for my lack-of-knowledge on this issue....maybe somebody can help me understand.

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

The other point often missed is If the boxes were so expensive why not import them from china or import the paper from china?. The reason is because you can not buy boxes cheaper than Visy manufactures them. So tell me how is DP ripping off the consumer? - Simply he is not.

Oh no. I'm sure they'd be just as outraged if it wasn't the president of the Carlton football club

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

You should see the bile they are writing over at the "Talking ACCC" forum.

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

ok - it's rare for me to defend my current employer - but I'll answer some questions even though I think this is for another forum index other than 'Talking Carlton'. In order to do this - don't look at this from the point of Richard Pratt being CFC President and great bloke or important philanthropist
- because from where I sit on Elizabeth St - that has nothing to do with the ACCC's actions against him.

1) Was this a 'witchhunt'
That's a little extreme, but certainly it's important for this to receive as much Business coverage (non-football) as possible because it says to the price-fixers out there (and there would be a few) that their actions will land them in serious trouble. Visy and Amcor are two huge companies - they're known to everyone in the business world and have high profile clients. For the ACCC to catch a 'fish this big' is again, significant for the message it gets across.

2) Does Graeme Samuel have a vendetta against Carlton?
No...in fact one of the senior commissioners is a Carlton supporter. GS does not 'follow' the footy as such. In fact rumour has it that while he was an AFL commissioner - he would listen to opera whilst those around him would think he was 'plugged in' to the ABC commentary.

3) What is price fixing?
Any agreement between a business and one or more competitors to fix prices is illegal under the Trade Practices Act. Price fixing agreements do not have to be in writing: they can be a 'wink and a nod', made over a drink in the local pub, at an association meeting or at a social occasion.

The important point is not how the agreement was made or even how effective it is, but that competitors are working out their prices collectively and not individually. And a good point for 'Michael Jezz' - Price fixing is a per se offence—that is, no matter what the effect is on competition in a market, price fixing agreements between competitors are illegal.

4) What is the ACCC and what's it do?
The largest misconception is that we do detective work like the cops - that we're some sort of Purana Taskforce! Well - as a couple of people on here can attest to through the odd PM - I know a bit about that too. Its primary responsibility is to ensure that individuals and businesses comply with the Commonwealth competition, fair trading and consumer protection laws and do this under the rules of the Trade Practices Act...most employees are economists or lawyers. The ACCC has some power - but not a lot....certainly not as much as people think.

People on this site have massively contradicted themselves when it comes to this topic. A man who deserves much of the credit for 'tying' us over before Dick Pratt came in is Bruce Mathieson. Yet Bruce is a large reason behind the whole Woolworths petrol stations and the competition from rivals Safeway in this area.
Simple answer to it all is that although you might not feel that Dick Pratt ripped you off and that there are more serious 'price fixing' rorts occurring in your life - he broke the law - he knows it - he admitted to it - his company will pay a small price for stuffing up. And in the scheme of things it was a big stuff up.

I'm sorry I can't answer all of Ryan's questions...but petrol is explained in another of my posts. If you want to get a fuel tax cut - your best bet is to vote for Family First in to the Senate.

Cheers Doctor.

I'm not that great of fan of Bruce. Don't get me wrong, i love what he's given to the club but i know full well regarding his involvement in the whole woolworths / safeway petrol deal.
But mainly, it's because of the pokies, i just hate em..............HATE EM!

But that's off-topic.

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"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit"
- Aristotle

ryan.....I hate them too....just seeing people waiting outside a pub at 8am so as to play them (I know the pub owner) makes me crooked on the bloody Govt. that first let them into Victoria.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.