The Bill, which followed a 22-month review of the price control provisions of the Commerce Act, also allowed companies to challenge rules by merits review through the High Court.
Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel said she had been nervous about that, but thought the benefits outweighed the risks of people using the courts to play games and cause delays.
Previously, court cases had focused on issues such as calculations about valuations and cost to capital, whereas now the Commerce Commission would set the rules.
Ms Dalziel and Energy Minister David Parker said the Bill aimed to make it easier for infrastructure businesses like electricity lines companies and airports to invest, while still giving consumers protection from high prices/poor quality.
The Bill required the commission to set out input methodologies by June 30, 2010. Ms Dalziel said that deadline could be extended by six months.
Changes would also allow:
- Regulation, such as information disclosure and a negotiate arbitrate regime as alternatives to full price control.
- A simpler and more predictable regime for electricity lines businesses removing the threat of relatively heavy-handed regulation for minor breaches of thresholds, and with time limits for commission decisions.
- A more appropriate regime of information disclosure for smal locally consumer-owned electricity lines businesses where the customers were essentially the owners of the business.
- An enhanced regime for gas pipelines which enabled them to propose a price path to the commission.
- A more robust information disclosure regime (compared with the Airport Authorities Act) for the Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington international airports, with monitoring by the Commerce Commission.
The Bill also included some tidying up relating to the clearance or authorisation of business mergers.
