Why? Because governments like to achieve social outcomes by mandating cross-subsidies from profitable customers to non-profitable customers instead of explicitl

Why? Because governments like to achieve social outcomes by mandating cross-subsidies from profitable customers to non-profitable customers instead of explicitly funding the outcomes themselves. However, like the proverbial hole in the bucket, this then requires additional pieces of legislation added over time to keep it working. In this case, to stop newer entrants from cherry picking the profitable customers. The biggest advantage of direct explicit funding (which can be provided through competitive tendering) is that it allows competition to work better. The other advantage is that the cost of achieving the desired social outcome is explicit as a budget line item, rather than hidden as indirect costs, allowing for a more informed debate about what social outcomes the community wants.