The Government has progressed its ambitious, economy-wide review to improve competition, lift productivity, and drive down the cost of living.
“Improved competition is a top priority for this Government. When competition is working well, New Zealand businesses can thrive. This has knock-on consumer benefits, including greater choice and lower prices in key sectors like fuel, groceries, and banking,” said Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly.
“That’s why I launched a review of our competition settings in December last year, set out in the Commerce Act. Much of the Commerce Act has not been reviewed for over 20 years. I want to ensure our competition settings keep pace with market developments so both Kiwi businesses and consumers can get ahead.”
Recent tweaks to the competition rules have mainly involved sector-specific legislation. In contrast, this review will improve overarching competition settings and reduce the need for layers of reactive regulation in individual sectors.
“We are moving at pace to progress this work. Public consultation has now closed on key parts of the review, including our merger control settings, potential new code-making powers, and modern tools to address anti-competitive conduct.”
Bayly said the review focused mainly on merger settings. Over many decades, New Zealanders have experienced firsthand some of the effects of mergers and unhealthy market competition: reduced innovation, a smaller range of goods and services, and increased prices.
He added that many of these could have been avoided if more robust merger controls were in place. Improved merger settings can lead to better competition and fairer deals for Kiwis.
“Thank you to those who provided feedback during this consultation period. Your views will help shape changes to our competition settings to support competitive, dynamic markets that will boost economic productivity and living standards. I expect to announce decisions on the next steps in due course.”
