New Zealand & Australian Competition Watchdogs Team Up

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) on New Zealand announced a refresh of the cross-appointments between the New Zealand Commerce Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

ACCC Commissioners Stephen Ridgeway and Anna Brakey have been appointed as associate members of the New Zealand Commerce Commission from 1 March 2022.

Anna Brakey is highly experienced in regulatory economics and public policy with over 25 years of work with regulators, government, and within the private sector. She has had broad exposure to a wide range of infrastructure industries, including energy, water and transport.

Stephen Ridgeway, on the other hand, brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles as a lawyer in the private and public sectors. He is widely recognised as one of Australia’s leading competition and consumer lawyers and an expert in the field, and has been a central figure in several of the ACCC’s high profile decisions in recent years.

The cross-appointment arrangement between the ACCC and the Commerce Commission began in 2010 to align the administration and enforcement of competition and consumer law, promoting a Single Economic Market between Australia and New Zealand.

These 2 new cross-appointments will refresh the arrangement and promote ongoing coordination between the 2 agencies.

The previous ACCC cross-appointee, Sarah Court, stepped down from the Commerce Commission last year following her departure from the ACCC to take up the role of Deputy Chair at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

Stephen Ridgeway and Anna Brakey have been appointed by the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Dr David Clark, for a period ending at the expiry of their terms at the ACCC.

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