Industry concentration worsening: Labor

Federal Labor believes the competition watchdog should be given increased powers to embark on inquiries without having to wait for the nod from Canberra.

Assistant shadow treasurer Andrew Leigh wants the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to have new powers similar to its British counterpart, which has a "market studies function".

This allows the regulator to investigate concentrated sectors and propose solutions before the problems emerge into public view.

"A market studies power would have allowed Australia's competition watchdog to initiate its own inquiry into the energy sector without waiting for a specific reference from the federal government," Dr Leigh will tell a Perth audience on Wednesday.

He says the 2015 Harper competition review recommended a strong market studies power and the ACCC has repeatedly requested such capability.

Concentration among Australian industries is getting worse with the number of mergers and acquisitions having more than quadrupled since 1990 - from 346 with a combined value of $28 billion, to 1595 with a value of $140 billion in 2016.

This has led to a substantial increase in market concentration in supermarkets, banking, airlines, meat processing, bottled drinks, telecommunications and a range of other important industries, Dr Leigh will say in his Sir Walter Murdoch School Policy Seminar at the Murdoch University.

"Despite all the rhetoric that mergers improve economies of scale and boost efficiency, recent research from the United States suggests that productivity improvements from mergers has been low," Dr Leigh will say.

"Getting competition right isn't just about creating a stronger economy, it's also fundamental to forging a fairer society."