Overseas experience has shown that there is considerable potential for fraud and collusion as money begins to flow in the reconstruction phase. This can start with inflated or duplicated insurance claims and then move on to a range of illegal practices including inflated invoicing, bid rigging, price fixing and corruption of officials.
Christchurch will be a key area for economic activity and growth for the New Zealand economy for up to the next ten years. It is important that organisations and businesses involved with the rebuild have a good understanding of the Commerce Act and how it applies to them.
Over the next few months the Commission will be meeting with those people who have a key role in procurement functions and activities for the Christchurch rebuild. This includes: insurance companies; the Insurance Council; EQC; associations for loss adjusters and quantity surveyors; Christchurch City Council; CERA; and others.
The goal of the project is to foster good procurement and tendering practices which will help ensure healthy competition during the Christchurch rebuild.
“Our goal is to increase awareness and understanding of competition and consumer laws, and to prevent anti-competitive behaviour. In particular, we want to prevent collusive practices such as bid rigging. We want key stakeholders to be able to recognise and report such practices should they occur,” said Commission Chair Dr Mark Berry.
The new initiative is part of our focus on increasing education to raise awareness of the benefits of competition and through this, raise compliance with competition and consumer laws. The Commission will deliver presentations and workshops to key stakeholders and provide them with resources on competition and consumers laws which include specific guidance on collusive conduct and how to detect and deter such behaviour. We aim to develop good relationships with these groups so that we can assist on specific issues as they arise in the future.
