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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.

Broadcasting Minister Craig Foss today announced the appointment of Donna Grant to the board of New Zealand On Air.

Ms Grant is currently national director of the National Institute of Performing Arts Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi. She is also executive director of the Manaakitanga Aotearoa Charitable Trust, a private training establishment.

“Donna’s considerable governance experience gained from serving on community, sports and Māori performing arts boards will add depth and useful perspective to the board” Mr Foss says.

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.

Broadcasting Minister Craig Foss met with Chinese officials negotiating the China-NZ television co-production agreement in China today.

Negotiations began in 2010, when New Zealand and China signed a film-only co-production agreement. Mr Foss met with Vice Minister Nie Chen Xi in Beijing to discuss the benefits of television production collaboration between the two countries.

“New Zealand is now on track to become the first country to have signed a television co-production agreement with China,” 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:

A Bill that will strengthen consumer rights, simplify business compliance and ensure consumer protections are clear and accessible has passed its third reading in Parliament today says Consumer Affairs Minister Craig Foss.

“The Consumer Law Reform Bill represents the most significant change to New Zealand’s consumer law in more than twenty years.

Broadcasting Minister Craig Foss will visit Beijing next week to progress a China-NZ television co-production agreement.

Mr Foss will be hosted by Minister of the State General Administration for Press, Publication, Radio and Television, Mr Cai Fuchao to discuss the television co-production agreement under negotiation.

“I look forward to meeting with my Chinese counterparts and exploring the opportunities available to both NZ and China in the television co-production space.

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.

New Zealand television is now a digital-only zone after the analogue signal was switched off by Broadcasting Minister Craig Foss.

Mr Foss switched off the Waiatarua TV Tower analogue transmitter at 2am this morning, marking the end of a three year campaign to ensure New Zealand households were ready for the digital transition.

“This is a significant milestone in the history of New Zealand television. Scheduled analogue services have been operating since the 1960s, when New Zealanders had access to just one channel for a few hours each night.

Broadcasting Minister Craig Foss has acknowledged the work of NZ On Air and the Media Access Charitable Trust as New Zealand’s captioning service moves out of TVNZ after 25 years.

New Zealand’s captioning service, previously part of TVNZ, is now a stand-alone service known as Able, run by the Media Access Trust and funded by NZ On Air.

“I would like to congratulate all involved in a smooth transition and continued commitment to make Kiwi content accessible to as many New Zealanders as possible,” says Mr Foss.

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.

Broadcasting Minister Craig Foss says Auckland residents need to be prepared as analogue television will be switched off this weekend.

Auckland and the upper North Island will be the final region to make the switch to digital television at 2am Sunday 1 December.

“Latest research shows that while most people have taken steps to ensure they are ready, there could be up to 49,000 households left without a working television on Sunday,” 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:

Broadcasting Minister Craig Foss today announced that he has reappointed Jane Taylor to the Radio New Zealand board (RNZ) and Alison Gerry, to the Television New Zealand board (TVNZ).

“As highly skilled and experienced directors, Jane Taylor and Alison Gerry each make a valued contribution to RNZ and TVNZ and I am delighted that the boards will continue to benefit from their expertise for a further term,” says Mr Foss.

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.

Broadcasting Minister Craig Foss has welcomed the launch of Radio New Zealand’s new online youth service – “The Wireless”

The project is aimed at providing an online forum for content relevant to 18-30 year olds, while promoting emerging New Zealand talent.

“I would like to congratulate Radio New Zealand for continuing to expand its online presence. The way we receive our content is changing as traditional broadcast methods are challenged.