The Commerce Commission today welcomed the government's announcement that it will update the Commerce Act with measures to enhance competition, including to deter creeping acquisitions and predatory pricing, and make changes to the Commission's governance structure to support its growing role.
"The changes will allow us to accelerate and deepen the direction we are taking to enhance competition in the economy, and improve choice and quality for New Zealanders," says Dr John Small, Chair of the Commerce Commission.
"The Government's decisions will ensure the Commission is future-focused and has the right tools. This means we will be ready for the competition challenges in the years ahead.
"We're pleased the recent review of the Commission's governance and effectiveness and the Government's response to it confirmed we are a strong and trusted organisation.
"We welcome the review and its recommendations. And we accept the challenge from the reviewers to become an even stronger and more resilient competition agency.
"We are delivering governance and operational changes well ahead of legislative change. With the Minister's endorsement, we're getting on with those changes right now. The future changes to the legislation which the Minister has announced will further unlock that direction," says Dr Small.
Adrienne Meikle, Chief Executive of the Commerce Commission says, "On 1 October we're going live with our New Ways of Working. This is focused on improving the pace of our decision-making and increasing the benefit we provide.
"We're already implementing changes. These include improving how we engage with and listen to our stakeholders and strengthening our voice on why competition matters for New Zealanders. As a key part of this work, we'll be publishing an annual State of Competition in NZ report," says Ms Meikle.
Dr Small says, "Our new ways of working are focused on enhancing competition for the benefit of all New Zealanders. They'll help us get ahead of the competition issues that matter in our economy."
