Young Economist – Competition Policy Event

Please join us to hear from a panel of competition policy experts, to discuss how declining competition in Australia and rising market power have weighed on productivity growth. The event will be catered with food and drink, so be sure to RSVP to secure a spot at this exciting event.

Please arrive at 5:30pm for 6:00pm start. Question time and networking opportunities will follow the presentation

Please register below by 6pm on 10 October 2025. There are limited spots available at the event, so RSVP early to secure your spot.

Meet the panellists:

Flavio Menezes

Professor of Economics, Director of the Australian Institute for Business and Economics at UQ, and Chair of the Queensland Competition Authority Board

Flavio Menezes is a Professor of Economics and Director of the Australian Institute for Business and Economics at the UQ. Flavio was the previous Chair of the Queensland Competition Authority for three terms and has been a member of its board for nearly a decade. Flavio is also a part-time member of the Australian Competition Tribunal and a member of the NDIA’s Pricing Arrangement Reference Group. Professor Menezes was a member of the Expert Panel for the Special Disability Accommodation (NDIS) 2022–2023 price review. He was the president of the Economic Society of Australia (Queensland) from 2016 to 2018 and a member of the advisory board of the Federal Government’s 2019–2020 Deregulation Taskforce.

His experience includes advising the federal government, the AEMC, the ACCC, IPART and the ACT and Victorian governments on market design issues in regulatory environments. He has also provided economic advice to many private and public organisations on competition and regulatory issues in telecommunications, defence, fisheries, water, gambling, natural resources, electricity markets, dairy, smart cities, banking, aged care, the NDIS, early childhood education and childcare, health and transport.

Flavio recently presented at the Economic Reform Productivity Roundtable on competition and dynamism across the federation.

Anna Barker

A/g Assistant Secretary, Commonwealth Treasury

Anna is an experienced competition and public policy economist. She has worked on a range of policy issues including regulation, competition, consumer protection and the digital economy in Australian, UK and international public policy and regulatory organisations.

Anna works as A/g Assistant Secretary in Commonwealth Treasury, leading work on a revitalised National Competition Policy as part of the Competition Taskforce. She previously worked at the ACCC, leading work on competition and consumer issues in digital platform markets, and advising on mergers and competition cases as part of the Economic Branch. Anna has also worked at the OECD in France, where she worked as a Competition Expert and on consumer policy issues. She has also worked on regulation of the energy, telecommunications and water sectors at the ACCC, at the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets in the UK, and the Productivity Commission and Queensland Treasury in Australia. Anna holds a First Class Honours degree in Economics, and a Masters of Competition and Consumer Law.

William Copeman

Director of the Queensland Competition Authority

William’s background involves regulation of more traditional infrastructure monopolies. William’s diverse experience encompasses roles at Queensland Treasury, Queensland Treasury Corporation and Deloitte Economics.

As Director of Peer Review, his role is to provide accuracy of material and assurance of quality for the Queensland Competition Authority. He has delivered economic regulation, analysis and policy development in both the public and private sector. In particular, William has worked extensively in the Queensland water industry.