Press Release
For Immediate Release
Commerce

Simon Power’s Grandstanding Bad For Business

The Libertarianz Party today attacked Commerce Minister Simon Power’s stated aim of criminalising free speech between business operators.

Party leader Richard McGrath said Mr Power’s comments are an attack on private enterprise, and an excuse to tap phones and bug the offices and homes of businessmen.

Dr McGrath challenged the assumption that specific laws were needed to deal with cartels or monopolies.

“As long as new players are free to set up in competition with cartels, there will always be downward pressure on prices. Thankfully, New Zealand is considered once of the easiest places in the world to set up a new business, so the public have little to fear from cartels.”

“In a free market, collusion between companies in attempts to fix prices rarely succeeds for very long, because it creates incentives for competitors to come in and undercut them,” said Dr McGrath.

“Our Anti-Commerce Minister would do well to improve the workings of the free market by removing government regulation and concentrating law enforcement on issues of fraud, extortion and violent crime – prosecuting those who initiate force against others.”

“A cartel that tries to jack up prices is not initiating force against anyone, as no-one is forced to buy their product."

“My party is concerned that criminalising cartels would lead to fishing expeditions, where business and private homes were subjected to intrusive and involuntary surveillance in the hope of gathering evidence of communication between industrialists.”

The Libertarianz Party strongly advocates the deregulation and depoliticisation of industry, including making Mr Power’s cabinet post, and the entire Commerce Commission and Ministry of Economic Development, redundant.

ENDS

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