Appendix 1: Crown Entities
Commerce Commission
The Commission is a Crown entity established under the Commerce Act 1986. Its overriding purpose is to promote market efficiency by enforcing and fostering:
- healthy competition amongst businesses
- informed choice by consumers
- sound economic regulation
The Commission achieves this objective through its public enforcement, adjudication and litigation services, reporting to the Minister and providing information to the public. The Commission provides these services in accordance with performance measures agreed with the responsible Minister and purchasing Ministers in an annual output agreement. The responsible Minister may also formally communicate statements of government economic policy to the Commission from time to time, and the Commission must have regard to this when exercising its statutory functions.
The Commerce Amendment Act 2001 introduced new prohibitions for abuse of market power and anticompetitive mergers. These saw the Commission assume new regulatory and enforcement responsibilities. Other recent legislation has required the Commission to set up new enforcement regimes for the telecommunications industry, the electricity industry and the dairy industry. Workloads in telecommunications and electricity, in particular, are developing rapidly.
The Commission is also responsible for enforcing the Fair Trading Act 1986 and the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003. The Fair Trading Act covers misleading and deceptive conduct and product safety and consumer information standards (in particular, the motor vehicle supplier information notice). The Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act has provisions on buy-backs and consumer credit contracts.
Ownership Relationship with the Commerce Commission
The Minister of Commerce, as responsible Minister for the Commerce Commission, is responsible for the overall ownership performance of the Commission. The Minister of Commerce is also the primary purchasing Minister under Vote: Commerce, in his/her own capacity and on behalf of the Ministers of Consumer Affairs and Agriculture. The Minister of Commerce also purchases enforcement and adjudication activities under the Electricity Industry Reform Act 1998 on behalf of the Minister of Energy. The Ministers of Energy and Communications are also purchasing Ministers.
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