Minister of Commerce Paul Swain has announced a new appointment to the Commerce Commission.

Denese Bates QC of Auckland has been appointed as a member of the Commerce Commission for a period of three years.

Ms Bates has been practising as a barrister since 1981 and was appointed as a Queens Counsel in 1996. Her practice has encompassed a wide range of litigation before Courts and Tribunals and she has been counsel in a number of landmark cases.

She has recently ended a long involvement as a counsel member of both the Auckland District Law Society and the New Zealand Law Society. Over the past two years she has been convenor of the New Zealand Law Society’s Ethics Committee.

Since 1984 Ms Bates has been actively engaged in the management of a manufacturing business AJ Bates Ltd.