Minister’s foreword
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As Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, I am focussed on ensuring New Zealand’s core competition settings are working well. Maintaining a robust competition system in New Zealand helps ensure businesses compete on a level playing field and face few barriers when entering markets and growing their business.
The main purpose of our competition regime, as set out in the Commerce Act 1986, is to deliver long term benefits to New Zealand consumers. Businesses that actively compete are incentivised to offer goods and services at lower prices and at the quality and range that consumers want, leading to increased innovation. This innovation serves to increase economic productivity and results in increased living standards for all New Zealanders.
This Government is focused on rebuilding the economy, decreasing the cost of living and lifting productivity. Launching a review of our competition settings plays an important part in the delivery of these economic priorities. Much of the Commerce Act has not been reviewed for over 20 years, while the Australian Government has recently announced the ‘fifth wave of competition reform’. It is crucial that New Zealand’s competition settings remain agile, responsive and fit for purpose for the long-term benefit of consumers.
The purpose of this discussion document is to seek feedback on New Zealand’s current merger control regime and anti-competitive conduct provisions in the Commerce Act. I am also consulting on several possible new provisions that could increase the Commerce Commission’s agility to promote competition or competitive outcomes. These new provisions include the ability to influence business behaviour through industry codes, similar to those used by Australian regulators, and several technical amendments.
Our merger regime and anti-competitive conduct provisions help prevent businesses gaining a large share of a market to the likely detriment of consumers and allows the Commerce Commission to take action when businesses act to harm competition. I want to ensure the Commerce Commission is well equipped with the tools it needs to ensure competition flourishes in New Zealand.
I welcome discussion on the topics in this paper, or any other Commerce Act issues, and invite discussion and submissions from a wide range of stakeholders.