Mar 28, Kathmandu- A lack of fair competition in the private sector is threatening the quality of life of Australians, a parliamentary inquiry has warned.

In a report published on Wednesday, the federal parliament's partisan standing committee on finance noted a decline in competition and contraction across sectors in Australia.

The report says Australia's productivity has slowed over the past decade, market contraction has increased, investment in new technologies has been low, and there has been a shift towards a service economy.

Ruling Labor Party MP and former economist Daniel Mulino has said that Australia needs to become more competitive to improve people's living standards.

In an interview given to Nine Entertainment Newspapers, Mulino, who is also the chairman of the committee, stated that Australia is moving towards recovery from a decade of low productivity growth, saying that competitiveness and economic dynamism are essential.

In a report published in 2023, Australia's average productivity growth has fallen to 1.1 per cent over the 10 years to 2020, the lowest in 60 years.

In January 2023, Finance Minister Jim Chalmers asked the committee to investigate economic mobility, competitiveness and business promotion.

It has recommended to the government to introduce mandatory compensation for passengers whose flights are delayed to increase competition among the airlines.