Stronger regulation to promote competition passes third reading

This Bill makes improvements to the way the Commerce Act protects against anti-competitive behaviour will better ensure New Zealand businesses can compete on their merits, creating long-term benefits for consumers.

One of the most important changes in the Bill is to strengthen section 36 of the Commerce Act, which prohibits misuse of market power. This will better enable the Commerce Commission and private parties to take effective action against anti-competitive conduct by dominant firms.

Changes in the Commerce Amendment Bill include:

• strengthening the prohibition against misuse of market power (section 36 of the Commerce Act)
• repealing the safe harbour provisions protecting some intellectual property arrangements from competition law scrutiny
• other changes to improve the functioning of the Commerce Act and the Commerce Commission.

Read more about the review of section 36 of the Commerce Act

Read the Minister’s press release:

Stronger regulation to promote competition passes third reading(external link) — beehive.govt.nz