New Zealand First has accused Telecom of “bullying” tactics over it’s charging of Internet customers more for using
local lines from 1 November 1999.
“To argue that the lines are overloaded because of it’s own promotional campaigns - and then to charge more is
disingenuous,” said the Rt Hon Winston Peters MP.
“This is a clear example of an effective monopoly using market dominance to bully it’s retail customers.
“It demonstrates the failure of the New Zealand legal and regulatory regime to deliver the benefits of competition to
the New Zealand consumer that the acolytes of free trade promised.
“It also demonstrates the failure of the Kiwi share in Telecom that the then Minister of State Owned Enterprises vowed
would be cast in stone - as he took an axe to a piece of polystyrene.
“New Zealand First competition policy will be announced shortly. It will be pro-consumer, pro-business and
pro-competition,” concluded Mr Peters.
ENDS