Abstract:
Bob Baxt, the third chairman of the Trade Practices Commission, served for a single three-year term from 1988 to 1991. He followed Bob McComas, who had deliberately adopted a non-litigious approach to preserving the competitive process. Baxt was far more proactive and sought to push the frontiers of investigation and precedent, and perhaps, more significantly, to influence opinion about the need to expand the coverage of the Trade Practices Act. This article examines Baxt's role in teaching his interdisciplinary Trade Practices Workshops, the political context of his tenure, and his handling of the Queensland Wire case. Copyright 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd and the Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand 2009.