By Bernard Orsman
Record penalties, important steps in competition law and new responsibilities made this a special year for the Commerce Commission.
The highest total penalty imposed under the Commerce Act rose from $500,000 to $5.5 million when the High Court at Auckland penalised a group of North Island meat companies for
fixing prices they paid farmers for livestock.
And under the Fair Trading Act a record fine of $130,000 was handed out in the
Auckland District Court to Ashley Rhodes and his four companies for issuing false invoices for advertising.
The previous highest fine was $67,500, also imposed this year, on two linked companies, Colrayne Holdings and Spencer York Publishing, again for issuing false invoices for advertising.
Record compensation was also ordered under the Fair Trading Act when the Christchurch District Court ordered Brian Direen to pay $196,375 to seven people who had been misled into investing in his fast-food franchises. He lost an appeal in the High Court but is appealing to the Court of Appeal.
The year saw the commission attend the Privy Council in London for the first time, in a case involving Auckland car dealer Giltrap City Toyota.
The Privy Council's decision means the car firm will face trial in the High Court next year on allegations that it was involved in price-fixing.
The chairman of the commission, Peter Allport, said a steady flow of decisions during the year had developed competition law, not just in terms of higher penalties, but also in terms of how and when the law applied.
This year, the commission was also given the job of enforcing the new Electricity Industry Reform Act.
