Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
Work smarter with a Pro licence Learn More
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

CommComm report will lead to more regulation, but same price


“The Commerce Commission’s preliminary finding that there is a lack of competition in the fuel market will be used as an excuse for the Government to unleash new regulation on yet another industry”, ACT Leader David Seymour says.

“The Government has already banned offshore oil and gas exploration and plastic bags, and plans to introduce industry-wide collective employment agreements. Labour appears to want to dictate what entire industries can charge and how they do business.

“The Commission’s finding is no surprise after the Prime Minister pre-empted the outcome by saying consumers were being ‘fleeced’.

“In October last year, the Government along with National voted to give the Commerce Commission enormous powers to demand information from whole industries without a specific allegation to respond to.

“The way that the legislation was rushed through to undertake a particular market study, with the PM predetermining the outcome, confirmed ACT’s worst fears that the Commerce Amendment Bill was being misused for political purposes.

“New Zealand already has great difficulty with bureaucracy. Too much red tape and regulation prevents us from raising productivity. Complying with a market study, a high stakes exercise where companies are put under subpoena for detailed data, will be enormously expensive and add to the culture of bureaucracy and compliance over innovation and production.

“Even if the Government’s regulation of the fuel market cuts the importer margin by a quarter – or about 8 cents – it will not make a huge difference to petrol prices. Between September and December last year alone, the cost of 95 fluctuated by 37 cents. Taking a quarter of retailers’ revenue would send them bankrupt but save only 8 cents in the dollar.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“The likely outcome is that a new layer of bureaucracy will make business more difficult and have little impact on the price of petrol.

“No doubt both Labour and National think they can make goods cheaper for consumers, but both parties misunderstand the problem. The real problem with New Zealand’s economy is a lack of scale to support more competitors. We live in a sparsely populated country with five million people.

“ACT stood alone in opposing this legislation and we are proud to stand for sensible economics and high-quality public policy.”

ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines



Gordon Campbell: On Dune 2, And Images Of Islam


Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn.
Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik...
More


 
 


Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track

The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More

ALSO:


Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More

ALSO:

Government: Humanitarian Support For Gaza & West Bank

Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More


Government: New High Court Judge Appointed

Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.