CHOICE and the ACCC were delighted to host the 2022 Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture, given by Mr Rod Sims, outgoing Chair of the ACCC.
The lecture took place online on the afternoon of Tuesday 15 March 2022, to coincide with World Consumer Rights Day. You can watch a recording of the lecture below.
Our presenter
Rod Sims was appointed Chair of the ACCC in August 2011. Rod's appointment as ACCC Chair finishes on 20 March 2022, making him the longest serving Chair of the ACCC.
Prior to his appointment to the ACCC, he was the Chairman of the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of New South Wales, Commissioner on the National Competition Council, Chairman of InfraCo Asia based in Singapore, Director of Ingeus Limited based in London, a member of the Research and Policy Council of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia. Between 1988 and 1990 Rod was also the Principal Economic Advisor to Australia's Prime Minister.
Rod was awarded the Officer (AO) of the Order of Australia in 2022 for his service to public administration in economic policy and regulatory roles. Rod holds a first-class honours degree in commerce from the University of Melbourne and a Master of Economics from the Australian National University.
As his time at the ACCC comes to an end, Rod is delighted and honoured to present the Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture. He will be discussing the Australian Consumer Law's (ACL) importance and the need for it to rank at least equally with competition law, he will discuss some no-brainer ACL changes that are needed, and he will float a few other ideas. Finally, he will be saying “thanks”.
About the Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture
The Ruby Hutchison Memorial Lecture is held annually to coincide with the World Consumer Rights Day on 15 March.
The lecture is also held to commemorate Ruby Hutchison, founder of the Australian Consumers' Association, now known as CHOICE. For more information on Ruby Hutchison you can watch our 2021 Memorial Video.