Cross-border transactions and all their problems.
The economic and social consequences of reducing costs to do with distance. Will the risks increase for consumers; will there be greater distrust as a consequence in the market?
The challenge of an ever greater array of goods arriving as a result of globalisation will continue and the global market for the provision of services will present a new challenge.
Internet sales.
Will there need to be global consumer groups to keep up with the issues?
Trade-offs between efficiency and equity.

6.5 Labelling

There will be an intensification of the requirement for the extensive labelling of products in terms of safety. Food labelling will have been taken over by New Zealand Food Safety Forum (NZFSA).

6.6 Safety

The issues labelled as "consumer safety" are likely to disappear because the Ministry has done so well that only information will be required. But trans-Tasman product safety management will be an issue, as well as trans-Pacific, and Australia-United States.

6.7 Weights and Measures

Trade Measurement (TM) will become the central government advisory service for legal metrology.
TM will also be involved in trans-Tasman and trans-Pacific issues, and have a closer working relationship with South Pacific economies.
Will trust be maintained in weights and measures?

6.8 Credit

The unreality of credit cards in terms of money, plus the distance of the actual credit providers from the people taking the credit, will mean that the availability of credit to people with insufficient ability to pay will continue. You can't legislate against consumers?

6.9 Targeting

There is no expectation that poverty/lack of employment will have lessened in five years, nor that good levels of service will have been restored to rural areas. Therefore, these will remain issues and targeting will continue to be necessary.

6.10 Goods and services

A range of matters were raised by the stakeholders:

Where will the vulnerabilities of the average consumer lie over the next 10 years? Should we be systematically checking systems to find out?
Closer regulatory integration with Australia-one market through CER and one set of regulatory institutions. Australian and American standards are going to push against some elements of New Zealand's regulatory agenda but the prize for New Zealand will be access to vast markets. What will the trade-offs be? Will some consumer benefits be lost? For example, the United States dislikes the concept of Pharmac and the control of the purchase price of drugs; Australia tends to have a greater degree of government regulation.
Too much choice and never enough information/too much information.
Bundling of services will make it difficult for the consumer to unravel the real costs of each service. For example, one service provider providing the following services for one fee: telephone, satellite TV, Internet, electricity, and insurance. There will be a need for impartial analysis.
The boundaries of all legislation will be pushed to the limit-for example, what is a sale? Air New Zealand promotion of fares to Telecom customers who frequently call Melbourne?

6.11 The Cost of Home Ownership

6.12 Retirement Savings, Superannuation, Ageing Population

Will superannuation be a consumer issue? Will the large retired population bring other new issues?

Previous Page / Table of Contents / Next Page

|Index|Phase One: Report : Background Papers|Phase Two: Final Report|

Review of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs

Disclaimer

Privacy and Copyright Statement

This site uses cookies to track and analyse usage.