EMBARGOED until delivery at 12.10pm Thursday 7 March 1996
Applying the law impartially means sometimes having to make unpopular decisions Commerce Commission Chairman Dr Alan Bollard said today.
Dr Bollard was speaking about the Commerce Act and Fair Trading Act at the annual Corporate Managers' and Company Secretaries' Conference in Auckland.
He compared the Commission to a referee.
"A referee does not write the rules," he said. "A referee does not design the playing field, or coach the players, and a referee does not pick winners.
"What the referee does is ensure that when the teams are on the field they obey the rules of the game, and he, or she, does that impartially."
He continued the analogy saying that sometimes the referee has to take action against illegal tactics used by the home team, and ignore complaints from a popular underdog being legally beaten by a team from a bigger club.
Such decisions are often unpopular, but businesses must know that the rules - in this case the law - are always applied impartially by the Commission, irrespective of whether the organisations are big or small, New Zealand or overseas owned, or in the public or private sectors.
The Commerce Act promotes competition by prohibiting anti-competitive behaviour. The Fair Trading Act prohibits false or misleading claims. It contributes to competition by ensuring that customers have accurate information.
Neither Act tells businesses how they must operate nor do they try to determine structures for industries. The underlying philosophy is that healthy competition - and that includes informed choices made both by customers and by producers - will create a better result for society than any other way of deciding how businesses should operate.
Copies of Dr Bollard's speech can be obtained today by contacting Communications Officer Vincent Cholewa, phone work (04) 498 0920, home (04) 479 1432
I will not be available on Thursday, copies will be available from reception phone
