By Philippa Stevenson
Dairy industry leaders, hobbled by the amount and complexity of information sought by the Commerce Commission on their mega co-op plans, may seek more time to respond.
Industry heads meeting in Wellington this week have so far made little comment on the commission's draft determination which declined their proposed
merger of the Dairy Board with up to eight dairy companies.
The commission has invited interested parties to make submissions on the decision by September 17, and to attend a public conference from October 5 to 8. On Monday, 28 companies or organisations, and four individuals registered their interest. More were expected to follow.
It is understood that yesterday the industry leaders debated seeking to postpone their response because of the amount of work that would have to be done to satisfy the commission. Comment is expected today.
In the meantime, the select committee considering the Dairy Industry Restructuring Bill has reported back to Parliament, recommending only minor technical changes.
