10 July 2008 Media Statement

Appointments to the Securities Commission and Takeovers Panel

Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel today announced appointments to the boards of two independent Crown entities, the Securities Commission and the Takeovers Panel.

Keitha Dunstan and Mai Chen have been reappointed as members of the Securities Commission.

Colin Giffney has been appointed as the Takeovers Panel Deputy Chair-elect and Peter Scott as a Panel member, cross-appointed from Australia.

“Both the Securities Commission and Takeovers Panel play key roles in the effective management of our regulatory regime and I welcome the expertise and experience these people bring to their respective positions”, said Lianne Dalziel.

Brief Background

Professor Keitha Dunstan is currently the Head of the School of Accounting and Commercial Law at Victoria University of Wellington (VUW) and was the founding Director of the Centre for Accounting, Governance and Taxation Research at VUW until 2006.

Mai Chen is a partner in Chen Palmer, Public Law specialists, and was formerly a Senior Lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington Law Faculty

Colin Giffney is the Principal of Giffney and Jones, Auckland-based specialist corporate advisers and was first appointed to the Panel in 2001. Mr Giffney will take over the Deputy Chairmanship when the term of office of the incumbent, Alastair Lawrence, finishes later this year. Mr Giffney was past Managing Director of Jordan Sandman Were (now Goldman Sachs) and currently holds directorship roles, including Chair, on other private sector boards.

Peter Scott is a current member of the Australian Takeovers Panel and is the Vice-Chair of UBS AG’s Investment Banking Division. He was nominated to the New Zealand Panel by the Hon Nick Sherry, the Australian Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law.

Background on the Securities Commission
The Securities Commission, which is established under the Securities Act 1978, is an independent Crown entity. The Commission is New Zealand’s main regulator of investments. The Commission’s work contributes to strengthening investor confidence and fostering capital investment in New Zealand by promoting the efficiency and integrity of our securities markets through cost-effective regulation. The Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Minister of Commerce, appoints the ten members of the Commission.

For further information on the Securities Commission, see www.seccom.govt.nz

Background on the Takeovers Panel
The Takeovers Panel, established under the Takeovers Act 1993, is an independent Crown entity under the Crown Entities Act 2004. As regulator of the corporate takeovers market, the Panel has an important role in ensuring transparent and equitable takeover processes, reducing transaction costs for domestic and international investors and increasing confidence in the integrity of the New Zealand corporate takeovers market. The Governor-General, on the recommendation of the Minister, appoints the members of the Panel, which consists of between five and eleven members. One of the positions on the Panel is filled by a member of the Australian Takeovers Panel in a reciprocal trans-Tasman arrangement. Under these arrangements the Chairman of the New Zealand Panel, David Jones, is a member of the Australian Panel.

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