Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison and New Zealand Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi have welcomed the cross-appointment of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Commissioner Roger Featherston to the New Zealand Commerce Commission (NZCC).
“I am very pleased to appoint Roger Featherston as an associate member of the NZCC under the cross-appointment arrangement with the ACCC. I have no doubt Mr Featherston will add value to the NZCC’s work, with his background in trade practices, competition and consumer law practice and policy,” Mr Faafoi said.
“Mr Featherston is a leading expert in his field and his cross-appointment will strengthen Trans-Tasman cooperation on competition and consumer issues,” Mr Morrison said.
“Over the years, the cross-appointment arrangement between the ACCC and the NZCC has helped ensure consistency of approach to merger cases and competition issues affecting markets in both countries,” Mr Morrison added.
Roger Featherston will be the second of the ACCC’s two cross-appointees to the NZCC, with the other being Sarah Court. The Chair and Deputy Chair of the NZCC, Dr Mark Berry and Sue Begg, are currently cross-appointed as associate members of the ACCC.
Background
The New Zealand Commerce Commission is New Zealand’s independent competition authority and regulatory agency. The Commission is responsible for enforcing laws relating to competition, fair trading, and consumer credit contracts, and it has regulatory responsibilities in the electricity lines, gas pipelines, telecommunications, dairy and airport sectors.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is an independent statutory authority formed in 1995 to enforce the Australian Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and a range of additional legislation, promoting competition, fair trading and regulating national infrastructure for the benefit of all Australians.
Roger Featherston’s career has concentrated on trade practices/competition law and consumer law practice and policy. It spans a beginning in the Attorney-General’s Department to a partnership in an Australian law firm, where he established one of Australia’s leading competition law and regulatory practices, to consultancy work and being a Commissioner of the ACCC. He has acted for commercial and government clients in a wide range of sectors including the airports, airlines, electricity and telecommunications sectors, on issues which include competition law litigation and enforcement, informal merger clearances and access and pricing issues. Mr Featherston was a special counsel for the ACCC from 2012 to 2014, focusing on enforcement projects in respect of supermarkets and petrol retailing. Since June 2014, he has been a Commissioner on the ACCC. He is a member of the ACCC’s Enforcement Committee and Communications Committee, and chairs the Mergers Review Committee and Adjudication Committee