There have been a number of key developments in the competition and regulatory spaces, which will impact many New Zealand businesses. These are discussed in our October 2024 Newsletter below:
The Commerce (Criminalisation of Cartels) Amendment Act comes into force in New Zealand today. This means that: It is a now a criminal offence under the Commerce Act to enter into or give effect to a cartel provision while intending to engage in “price fixing”, “restricting output” or “market allocating”. Cartel law is designed to …
In its 2 April 2020 judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that an arrangement between Hamilton real estate agencies to adopt a vendor-funded model for listing properties on Trade Me (a major property listing website) and to remove existing listings from Trade Me in January 2014 had the effect of controlling the price of real estate …
On 15 February 2018, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister, Kris Faafoi, tabled the Commerce (Criminalisation of Cartels) Amendment Bill (Bill) in the House. The Bill introduces a new criminal offence for cartel conduct, which includes a penalty for individuals of imprisonment of up to seven years. If enacted, there would be a two-year transitional period …
Further consolidation in the media sector Two high profile mergers have been announced in the last few months, representing further consolidation in the media, telecommunications and content space in New Zealand. Both mergers are conditional on Commerce Commission (Commission) approval.
Andrew Matthews has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the Eighth Edition of The Best Lawyers in New Zealand in the practice areas of Competition and Consumer Law and Regulatory Practice. Andrew has been recognised as a top lawyer in the area of Competition and Consumer Law since 2014, and the firm is …
Targeted review of the Commerce Act 1986 In one of our last newsletters for 2015 we discussed the publication of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) Targeted Review of the Commerce Act 1986 – Issues Paper (Issues Paper). The Issues Paper essentially focuses on whether NZ’s misuse of market power test (section 36) …
In a surprise announcement, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Paul Goldsmith has confirmed that criminal sanctions for cartel conduct will be dropped from the Commerce (Cartels and Other Matters) Amendment Bill (Cartels Bill), which has been making its way through the parliamentary process for over 4 years.
The Commerce Commission (NZCC) has had another busy year, particularly in the areas of consumer protection (including advocacy), cartels and regulated industries. NZCC Chair, Dr Mark Berry, recently spoke at stakeholder briefings in Auckland and Wellington about the NZCC’s activities and achievements during the last financial year, and the NZCC’s plans for the future.
We raise this question due to a provocative observation of Dr Kaj Storbacka during a presentation by Dr Storbacka and Dr Suvi Nenonen* “The Importance of Market Innovations for New Zealand” at a Law and Economics Association of New Zealand seminar on 27 August. Dr Storbacka noted that during his extensive management consulting and academic …