Property Rights Must Be Protected

The Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce has endorsed the latest call to have property rights incorporated in legislation in response to findings that New Zealand’s record in this area is severely lacking.

Chamber CEO, Charles Finny, said that property rights are the cornerstone of a well-functioning economy and the analysis that shows New Zealand ranks amongst the weakest in the OECD in this area is deeply worrying.

Mr Finny was referring to The Protection of Private Property Rights and Just Compensation, released today by Lew Evans, Neil Quigley and Kevin Counsell from the Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation and NERA Economic Consulting.

“The chambers of commerce believe strongly in the protection of property rights. Without them business can not function,” said Mr Finny.

“Last year Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce complained to the Regulations Review Committee about the government taking actions to prevent shareholders selling their stakes in Auckland International Airport and the New Zealand Chambers of Commerce jointly published a primer on property rights. (Click here to access.)

“If the issues raised in this latest paper aren’t addressed, New Zealand risks losing out when it comes to attracting much needed investment.

“With the global economic crisis already making capital harder to attract, this issue is doubly important and should be part of the agenda for the Prime Minister’s Summit on Employment next week,” Mr Finny concluded.

ENDS

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