ACT to Oppose Panic Reversal of Court of Appeal Decision

Thursday, September 20 2001
Stephen Franks Press Releases -- Commerce

ACT Commerce spokesman Stephen Franks says ACT has today declined to let the government reverse yesterday's Court of Appeal decision in the Statutes Amendment Bill to be debated today.

"Nor will we consent to a stand alone Bill going through all its stages today, even if all the other parties don't care about constitutional principles.

"It is bad for parliament to have to reverse court decisions. Any reversal needs strong justification. It is unconscionable to do it in one day in a panic without debate of the alternatives.

"The underlying problem was a foolish change to copy Australian law in May this year. ACT and most reputable experts warned against it.

"ACT would support an urgent and principled fix that would apply equally to everyone, by simply repealing the ill-advised change.

"That would restore the law we had until May, which barred mergers that could allow abuse of a dominant position.

"The Minister's proposed change will benefit only the 10 applicants fortunate enough to have their Commerce Commission proceedings in train in May when the law changed. If Parliament thinks they should benefit, it should ensure all the others who could be as badly affected get equal treatment," Stephen Franks said.

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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