Auckland Airport to fight disclosure rules

Auckland Airport to fight disclosure rules

Feb. 17 (BusinessDesk) - Auckland International Airport Ltd., New Zealand's busiest gateway, says it will appeal the Commerce Commission's new disclosure requirements aimed at boosting transparency and competition among the country's three main airports.

Under the commission's new input methodologies rule, Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch airports - which are all regulated under the Commerce Act 1986 - will now be required to provide regular updates on historical financial information, quality measures, pricing information, and revenue forecasts from the start of the 2012 financial year.

The move is seen as a step to incentivise operators to investment in infrastructure, improve operational efficiencies, share the benefits of efficiency gains with customers, and limit their ability to extract excessive profits.

"Auckland Airport recognises the purpose of regulation in protecting the interests of consumers, particularly in industries such as aviation where there are high costs of entry and a limited number of players," general manager corporate affairs Charles Spillane.

"However Auckland Airport also believes that the information disclosure regime was meant to be a light-handed form of regulation that appropriately reflects the unique nature of the airport sector, which is delivering great outcomes for consumers".

The airport did not detail which elements of the regulation it would appeal other than to say it would challenge aspects that "do not sufficiently balance consumer and investor interests, or recognise the interests of consumers in the long-term provision of capacity for growth at airports".

The full list of disclosures include reports on return on investment; regulatory profit; regulatory tax allowance; regulatory asset base roll-forward; related party transactions; actual to forecast expenditure; segmented information; and a consolidation statement.AIA shares rose 0.5% today to $2.25.

(BusinessDesk) 17:19:46

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