ACCC and Commerce Commission exchange officials
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and New Zealand Commerce Commission have announced cross-appointments, which follows the Single Economic Market Outcomes Framework announcement by the two countries in August last year.
ACCC member Dr Jill Walker will join the Commerce Commission as an associate member and will participate in matters relating to the Commerce and Fair Trading Acts.
At the same time, Commerce Commission chair Dr Mark Berry has been appointed as an associate member of the ACCC and will participate in all matters brought before the Australian regulator.
The two have been appointed for three-year terms from 1 December, 2010, to 30 November, 2013, and are expected to carry out most of their work from their respective countries.
The cross-appointments were announced by the Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, David Bradbury, and New Zealand Commerce Minister Simon Power, who said the appointments would support convergence in the way the two regulators approach similar issues under competition and consumer laws.
“This will lead to more efficient and effective processes, and reduce business compliance costs for those operating on both sides of the Tasman,” Power added.
Berry has chaired the Commerce Commission since April 2009 and was its deputy chair from 1999 to 2001. Walker commenced her five-year term as a member of the ACCC in September 2009 and now chairs the ACCC’s Mergers Review Committee.
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