"[Bill] English had an Academic Advisory Group when he was Finance Minister, which included me. Willis dumped it. Her adviser outside the Beehive is the NZ Initiative ... a lobbying group for our biggest corporate monopolies.
"Its board includes Scott Perkins ... a Non-Executive Director of Woolworths. Another Board member is Chris Quinn, who is Chief Executive of Foodstuffs ... Barbara Chapman, another Board member, is former Chair of one of the Big Banks.
"Can you believe it? This is the Board of the outfit who our Finance Minister takes advice from about how to break-up monopolies? Fletcher Building is a member of the Initiative. I was there around 8 years ago when Key was PM, and the CEO of that company ... lectured me how NZ's infrastructure was 'amazing' and not in need of any significant repair. Air NZ is a member. ANZ is a member. ...
"So Finance Minister Willis, my first recommendation is to replace your advisers with ones who do not represent the interests of the biggest monopolies and duopolies in NZ."~ Robert MacCulloch from his post 'Finance Minister Willis Challenges DownToEarth.Kiwi to give her "ideas" about how to Break Monopoly power in the NZ Economy. Here they are.'
Wednesday, 27 November 2024
"Finance Minister Willis: my first recommendation is to replace your advisers with ones who do not represent the interests of the biggest monopolies and duopolies in NZ."
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2 comments:
He's correct that when National ministers say they want to help business, what they really mean is *particular* businesses. (Fletcher's, Sky City et al.)
And also that the more regulation imposed on businesses, the easier it is for the *bigger* businesses to absorb the compliance costs, and to use those regulations against would-be competitors. (Woolworth's, Foodstuffs, all of the big banks.)
But to be perfectly fair, whatever they might be saying at board level at the NZ Initiative, the actual *thinkers* at the think tank (Eric Crampton, Oliver Hartwich, Bryce Wilkinson) are arguing to reduce that regulation, to slash compliance costs, and to make it easier for would-be competitors to existing monopolistic/duopolistic markets.
So Mr MacCulloch's criticism here depends in large part on where exactly, and from whom, Ms Willis's advice derives.
I’ve found The New Zealand Initiative generally free market and pushing for less regulation and bureaucracy, so don’t put much credence in this criticism.
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