Background
8. In 2006, a comprehensive review of Parts 4, 4A and 5 of the Commerce Act was announced. The review was split into two streams, but with the intention that both streams would be carried out concurrently. The first stream is the Review of the Regulatory Control Provisions of the Commerce Act 1986. Final policy decisions that have come out of this stream of the review are due by October 2007. The second stream is the Review of the Clearance and Authorisation Provisions under the Commerce Act 1986. Final policy proposals on the Part 5 review are due in November 2007 [EDC Min(07)10/5].
9. It is generally accepted that New Zealand's clearance and authorisation processes are of a high standard. Thus, the aim of the review of Part 5 is to draw on the experiences of regulators and practitioners to further improve these processes. In particular, the review is looking to ensure that the application of the Act achieves an appropriate degree of accountability and transparency of decision making, participation by interested parties, analytical rigour, due process, and timeliness of decision making.
10. A discussion document on the Part 5 review was released in May 2007 and 33 submissions were received by the Ministry of Economic Development. It has become clear that, while there are some administrative and low level policy issues that can be progressed quickly, there are several issues that are more contentious and require more time to develop robust policy proposals for the more contentious issues. These include the possibility of introducing a collective bargaining notification system and/or a trade practice clearance process. On these issues in particular, there is a significant lack of quality information and clarity from the submissions as to whether there is a real problem to be addressed.
11. Given these key factors, it is recommended that the review of Part 5 be split into two streams:
- Phase 1: uncontroversial proposals to be progressed through the Regulatory Improvement Omnibus Bill of the Quality of Regulation Review; and
- Phase 2: final policy proposals on the complex issues to be delayed until 30 June 2008 to allow for targeted research, consultation and analysis of the issues.
The Regulatory Improvement Omnibus Bill
12. A review of regulatory frameworks, the Quality of Regulation Review (QRR), was announced in May 2006, with the aim of ensuring that the regulatory environment for business is supportive of the Government's economic transformation agenda. The mechanism of an omnibus bill has been an important part of this review, providing an administratively efficient method to address uncontroversial but important amendments identified by the QRR.
13. The Regulatory Improvement Omnibus Bill provides a suitable vehicle to progress the administrative policy issues within Phase 1 of the Part 5 review. Including these issues within the Bill is consistent with its general purpose, to address uncontroversial issues as expediently as possible.
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