Consumer voice ‘welcome’

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33791, 13 March 1975, Page 2

Consumer voice ‘welcome’

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, March 12.

The Price Tribunal would welcome helpful comments from members of the public, but would prefer that they came from some recognised organisation, said the chairman of the tribunal (Mr K. R. Congreve) today.

He was commenting on a statement by the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr Freer) that he would give early and favourable consideration to one fully representative organisation being a party to the hearings, on behalf of the public.

It might even be given the right to confidential submissions on financial aspects. If it were a responsible organisation he would not hesitate to give it access to confidential information provided the material “was used during the hearing and not used publicly either to the advantage of a group or the disadvantage of the applicant company," said Mr Freer.

Mr Freer said he felt the organisation best suited to this was the Consumers’ Institute.

Mr Congreve said the tribunal had, for some time, been concerned about the possibility that consumers could offer some helpful advice.

“That’s why at recent sittings we have asked for comments from the public generally,” he said. The tribunal would be quite happy for the Consumers’ Institute to make

submissions on behalf of the consumer in general, he said. However, the submissions must be in the context of the regulations and the act: as it stood. The act might' have to be amended, Mr Congreve said. “We feel that providing consumers take a reasonable' interest, they should be heard,” he said. i The section of the act' covering secrecy of information available would have to be tidied up, Mr Congreve said. The Campaign Against Rising Prices organisation said it would welcome proper rights for consumer organisations to participate at Price Tribunal hearings, but this must not be on the basis of picking favourites! among the organisations. Mrs C. Kelly, the Welling-! ton secretary of C.A.R.P. said no one consumer organisation owned the consumer protection field, or represented all consumer points; of view. Although the Minister' favoured the Consumers’ Institute, he could hardly deny that the combination of the Federation of Labour, the Combined State Service Organisations, and C.A.R.P., at the recent hearing involving Wattie’s, covered the largest ; section of the consuming public representated at a ; price inquiry, she said.