Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith welcomes the beginning of Money Week 2016 as it kicks off today.

“The theme of Money Week this year is Show Me The Money, with the aim of focusing New Zealanders on planning for their futures and achieving financial goals.

“Following its launch in 2012, Money Week has become an important part of the financial capability landscape. It provides an opportunity for people to think about how they manage their money and help to shine a light on the state of personal finances.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith officially launched the redeveloped Consumer Protection website today at a forum in Wellington.

“The new website makes things easier for consumers,” says Mr Goldsmith.

“All New Zealanders can use this website to access straight-forward content about what needs to be done before, during and after purchasing a product or service.”

In the past financial year the Commerce Commission received 4,283 complaints under the Fair Trading Act.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith has welcomed the European Commission’s announcement to recognise and permit New Zealand regulated auditors to practice in the European Union.

“The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has worked closely with the European Commission over the past two years,” says Mr Goldsmith.

“During this time their work has provided reassurance to the Commission that New Zealand’s auditors are among the most professional in the world and can operate across the European Union (EU).

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith has today released part one of the review into insolvency law, which discusses and sets out recommendations on the regulation of insolvency practitioners and measures to address the harms of voluntary liquidations.

“I set up the Insolvency Working Group in November 2015 to conduct an in-depth look into a variety of insolvency law matters.

“This is the first of two reports the working group will publish and it has identified a number of areas where our corporate insolvency laws could be improved.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith has today called for people to use the drop in the Official Cash Rate (OCR) as a chance to review finances and savings and consider debt reduction.

“With the fall in the OCR and possible flow on to mortgage and deposit rates, it is an opportune time to make sure you are making the choices that are right for you. This includes whether or not to consolidate debt, or move around investments.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith is encouraging people to have their say on retirement savings and bankruptcy.

“Bankrupt persons’ retirement savings are currently given uneven treatment, meaning some bankrupts’ retirement savings are released to repay creditors while other bankrupts are allowed to retain their retirement savings,” says Mr Goldsmith.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith has called for submissions on the reviews of Financial Markets Authority (FMA) funding, the FMA levy, the External Reporting Board levy (XRB) and New Zealand Companies Office fees.

“The FMA requires sufficient funding to carry out its statutory responsibilities and maintain confidence in New Zealand’s financial markets,” says Mr Goldsmith.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced three appointments to the Takeovers Panel, the regulator of the corporate takeovers market. The appointments will take effect on 1 October.

Andy Coupe, who is currently Deputy Chairperson, has been appointed Chairperson.

“Mr Coupe has made a valuable contribution to the Panel over the years with his commercial and capital markets background. The Panel’s work is highly regarded and I am confident this will continue under Mr Coupe’s leadership,” Mr Goldsmith says.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith has announced plans for changes to the Financial Advisers Act (FAA) and the Financial Service Providers Act (FSPA).

“The changes come after a comprehensive review, which will simplify regulation, enable advisers to have sensible conversations and encourage more people to seek high quality advice tailored to their needs.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith announced today the start of consultation on proposed regulations for the patent term extension provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Amendment Bill.

The Bill contains amendments to New Zealand legislation required to implement our obligations under the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. 

The proposed regulations relate to provisions in the Bill that will allow patent owners to request an extension of the patent term if there has been:

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith today announced the start of consultation on proposed regulations that will enable wine and spirit makers to register the geographical origins of their products.

“Providing a registration regime for geographical indications will assist the wine industry to protect the reputation of our exported New Zealand wines.

“New Zealand wine exports were just under $100 million in 1998 and this year those exports broke $1.5 billion,” says Mr Goldsmith.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith has welcomed a survey from the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), which provides a snapshot of the number of people who are engaging with their KiwiSaver annual statements.

“Taking the time to understand and engage with KiwiSaver statements is a key part of planning ahead and understanding what you need to do in order to live comfortably in retirement.

“The survey shows that only 21 per cent of New Zealanders read their statement thoroughly and 58 per cent look at it briefly.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith today announced Diane Maxwell will be reappointed as the Retirement Commissioner for a further three-year term.

“I am pleased to reappoint Diane Maxwell as the Retirement Commissioner to continue her excellent work as head of the Commission for Financial Capability,” says Mr Goldsmith.

“During her first term as Commissioner, Ms Maxwell has overseen a strategic change at the Commission building towards financial capability for all generations of New Zealanders.

One year on from the announcement of the government statement on Building Financial Capability in New Zealand, good progress is being made says Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith.

“Increasing levels of financial capability will allow people to better shape their lives, avoid hardship and achieve their goals,” says Mr Goldsmith.

The Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC) and the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) lead the cross-agency work which, in its first year, has delivered research and a range of programmes.

As part of the government’s priority to build financial capability in New Zealand, $900,000 is being allocated to improving levels of financial capability among Māori, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith announced today.

“During the past year the government has delivered a number of pilot programmes aimed at increasing financial capability among Māori.

“The allocation of additional funding will help deliver more financial education programmes for Māori and recognises the success of the pilot initiatives.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith has welcomed the release of the Financial Markets Authority’s (FMA) review of insurance replacement business today.

“Transparency is vital for consumers to have confidence in markets and make informed decisions,” says Mr Goldsmith.

“Insurance replacement is an area where there has been considerable scrutiny, particularly to determine if ‘churn’ in the life insurance market may be harming consumers. 

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith today announced the appointment of Vanessa Stoddart and the reappointment of Mary Holm to the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) Board.

Ms Stoddart has been appointed to the FMA Board for a five-year term and Ms Holm has been reappointed for a further three years.

“I am pleased with the wealth of experience these appointments bring,” says Mr Goldsmith.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith calls for further submissions on the misuse of market power as part of the government’s targeted review of competition law.

“In November the government released an issues paper seeking feedback on whether aspects of the current law protecting consumers from anti-competitive behaviour by businesses are working well,” says Mr Goldsmith.

A Bill that introduces a better balanced consumer interests test into the anti-dumping regime has been introduced, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith announced today.

“The consumer test will weigh up the benefits of at-the-border duties on dumped products and subsidised goods, against the costs to users of the product,” says Mr Goldsmith.

Budget 2016 provides an extra $15.2 million of operating funding over the next four years for the Commerce Commission to better protect consumers and promote competition, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith says.

“The extra funding means the Commission can actively enforce our recently reformed consumer and credit laws, which gave them more tools and powers to protect consumers from unscrupulous business practices,” Mr Goldsmith says. 

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith today announced the approval of a number of changes to the financial markets conduct regime following industry feedback.

“These small changes will further improve the regime and provide clarity to industry participants as they transition to the new regime,” says Mr Goldsmith.

“The Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 and associated regulations came into effect on 1 December 2014 and industry participants were given a two year transition period to become fully compliant and licensed.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith today announced the appointment of Dr Andrea Grant to the Accreditation Council for a three-year term.

“I am pleased to announce Dr Grant’s appointment to the Council,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“Dr Grant is an internationally experienced executive and director in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors and will bring valuable scientific knowledge to the Council’s work,” Mr Goldsmith says.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith will travel to Japan this weekend to represent the Government at the 2016 Nikkei International ‘Future of Asia’ Conference.

“The theme of this year’s forum is ‘Rising to Global Challenges and Realising Asia’s Potential’,” says Mr Goldsmith.