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Commerce Minister Craig Foss today announced the reappointment of John Lumsden as Chair of the Standards Council, and the reappointment of six members.

The reappointed members are Dr Sharon Kletchko, Fay Sowerby, Richard Gibbons, John Hannah, Vaughan Renner and Michael Wallmannsberger.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today announced the reappointments of Dr Mark Berry as Chair and Sue Begg as Deputy Chair of the Commerce Commission.

“These reappointments will maintain continuity in the leadership of the Commerce Commission. This is particularly important as the Commission prepares to implement significant reforms in competition, consumer credit and consumer laws, as well as further progress a comprehensive regulatory work programme,” says Mr Foss.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss has released the second set of draft regulations to bring the Financial Markets Conduct (FMC) Act 2013 into effect.

“The FMC Act governs how financial products are promoted and sold and contributes to the Government’s Business Growth Agenda to build New Zealand’s capital markets and drive business growth,” says Mr Foss.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss has today released a discussion paper for public consultation on the Patents Act 2013.

“The paper focusses on regulations that will give effect to a more consistent, high quality patent examination process. The new legislation will strengthen the criteria for granting a patent to ensure genuine innovations, which are novel and useful, are protected,” says Mr Foss.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) is seeking feedback on proposed regulations, including:

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today announced the appointment of Jane Taylor as a member of the External Reporting Board (XRB) for a five year term.

“Jane Taylor has worked in various industries across the public and private sector and her blend of legal, financial and governance experience will be particularly valuable to the XRB as it continues to develop our financial reporting framework under the Financial Reporting Act 2013,” says Mr Foss.

Ms Taylor is succeeding Ralph Simpson who has resigned from the Board.

More than 200 New Zealand businesses have taken advantage of the Madrid Protocol in the 12-months since New Zealand signed up to the international trade-mark treaty announced Commerce Minister Craig Foss today.

New Zealand signed up to the Protocol in December 2013. The online system enables entrepreneurs to file an international trade mark application through the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) and automatically have their application recognised and processed for other jurisdictions,” says Mr Foss.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss has welcomed the creation of a new financial literacy consortium – The Exchange.

Major financial institutions will make up The Exchange’s membership. These members will meet to share relevant information about financial literacy projects and allocate resources as they see appropriate to improve financial literacy in New Zealand. The Exchange will cooperate with the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income with their on-going financial literacy strategy.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today welcomed the appointment of Rob Everett as chief executive of the Financial Markets Authority.

“Mr Everett’s legal and compliance experience will have him well prepared for his role at the FMA and in facilitating the development of fair, efficient and transparent financial markets,” says Mr Foss.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today released a discussion document seeking feedback on proposed licence fees for market services providers under the Financial Markets Conduct (FMC) Act 2013.

“The FMC Act is a key component of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda and will govern how financial products are promoted and sold,” says Mr Foss.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss has today tabled a supplementary order paper (SOP) to the Companies and Limited Partnerships Amendment Bill.

“This Bill will further progress the Government’s Business Growth Agenda by lifting confidence in our capital markets. The SOP amends provisions criminalising certain directors’ duties,” says Mr Foss.

The SOP includes two changes to the offence that criminalises the duty to not trade recklessly:

A Bill removing the requirement for small and medium sized companies to produce complex financial statements has passed its third reading in Parliament.

The Financial Reporting Bill allows shareholders of small and medium sized companies to decide whether the company must prepare financial statements, says Commerce Minister Craig Foss.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss has welcomed the launch of an online tool making it easier to compare the fees and performance of different KiwiSaver funds.

“The Sorted KiwiSaver Fund Finder website allows users to compare fees, past performance and service levels of different KiwiSaver funds to make an informed decision about which fund best suits their individual circumstances,” says Mr Foss.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today announced the government will introduce changes that will enable the accounting and audit industry to be more agile in an increasingly competitive environment.

“The Accounting Infrastructure Reform Bill is part of the government’s Business Growth Agenda to improve regulation and promote healthy financial reporting frameworks.

“The accounting and audit industry will be better supported to meet a broader range of business and community needs,” says Mr Foss.

A bill that will require insolvency practitioners to be registered and meet minimum requirements has passed its second reading in Parliament, Commerce Minister Craig Foss announced.

“The Insolvency Practitioners Bill is aimed at improving the integrity of our financial system and investor confidence in our markets by ensuring that all corporate insolvencies are carried out professionally and efficiently and with the skills required for the job,” Mr Foss says.

The Government is proposing increased transparency, simplified compliance, changes to anti-dumping duties and tariff concessions to bring down the cost of home building materials, Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith and Commerce Minister Craig Foss announced today.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today released for consultation the first set of draft regulations to bring the Financial Markets Conduct (FMC) Act 2013 into effect.

The new regulations will govern how financial products are promoted and sold to support confident and informed market participation.

A Request for Proposal (RFP) for the provision of KiwiSaver default schemes has been released, Commerce Minister Craig Foss announced today.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today announced Government approval to implement a single application process and single examination process for New Zealand and Australian patent applications.

The single trans-Tasman processes for patent application, along with the passing of the Patents Bill, are part of the Government’s Business Growth Agenda initiatives to encourage and support innovative industries.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss has welcomed the publication of the first KiwiSaver disclosure statements under new regulations that require providers to disclose fund information into an easy-to-understand format.

From today, providers are required to present their disclosure statements online in a simplified format which will allow members to check how their funds are performing.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today announced the reappointment of Jane Glover and Warwick Smith to the Copyright Tribunal for a further three years.

“Jane Glover and Warwick Smith are experts in the areas of copyright and intellectual property and have been strong contributors on matters before the Tribunal,” says Mr Foss.

The Minister thanked Graeme Austin who recently resigned from the Tribunal.

“I would like to thank Mr Austin for his commitment to the Tribunal, and wish him well for the future,” says Mr Foss.

KiwiSaver default providers will retain the conservative investment approach because that is the most appropriate choice when the Government is taking decisions about other people’s private savings, Finance Minister Bill English and Commerce Minister Craig Foss say.

The ministers today announced a raft of decisions about KiwiSaver default provider arrangements following a comprehensive review which was agreed when KiwiSaver was launched in 2007.

A Bill that will continue a temporary ban on the parallel importation of films for commercial use passed its third reading in Parliament today.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss says The Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill will reduce the current ban period of nine months to five months from a film’s international release.

“The current commercial ban prevents importing films for commercial use for nine months after their international cinema release is due to expire at the end of next month,” says Mr Foss.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today announced changes to maintain and strengthen the development and delivery of New Zealand Standards.

The announcement follows a review of New Zealand’s Standards system last year. The purpose of the review was to ensure New Zealand has an independent and sustainable standards system.

Commerce Minister Craig Foss today welcomed the roll-out of new standardised KiwiSaver disclosure statements and urged KiwiSaver members to check how their schemes are performing in the new easy-to-understand format.

“From October, KiwiSaver providers are required to publish quarterly and annual reports illustrating the performance of their schemes in a consistent way. This standardised reporting will help Kiwis decide whether their scheme is best for their individual circumstances,” Mr Foss says.