Competition bill wanted

Press, 15 July 1983, Page 3

Competition bill wanted

PA Wellington A bill to increase commercial competition and make it more honest is the Consumer Council’s No. 1 priority, according to the council. The council said the shelving of a draft bill last year dealing with competition, and the lack of anything to replace it, was “highly perplexing,” and was the cause of concern at this month’s meeting of the council. r

The bill had the support of many groups and the council said it would go as far as to use the Official Information Act to discover

the reasons why it was blocked. The council proposed a new Competition Bill which would include: • An increase in competition and an attack on restrictive trade practices. • The banning of collective price fixing. • Rules governing price markdowns to eliminate misleading price comparisons. •The restraint of firms continuing dishonest and

high pressure selling tactics. • Improved safety standards making it possible to order compulsory recalls. The council said most of the proposals were not new by world standards and were believed to be in last year’s ill-fated bill. The Prime Minister, Mr Muldoon, said last year after the bill failed to get caucus approval that it needed an overhaul and would be reintroduced this session.