Commerce Commission appointments announced

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Paul Goldsmith today announced two new appointments to the Commerce Commission.

“I am pleased to announce the Governor-General has appointed Dr Jill Walker as a member of the Commerce Commission for a five year term, starting on 1 December 2015,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“I am also pleased to appoint Mr Graham Crombie as an associate member of the Commerce Commission for a five year term, starting on 20 July.”

Dr Walker is currently an associate member of the Commission cross-appointed from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), where she is a Commissioner. Mr Crombie is a chartered accountant with a breadth of business and governance experience, ranging from audit and accounting to consultancy roles.

“Dr Walker has proven to be a valuable asset to the Commission, given her extensive expertise in trade practices and anti-trust economics, and is well regarded both in New Zealand and overseas. Mr Crombie’s business and governance experience on a number of boards will also be a valuable addition to the Commission,” Mr Goldsmith says.

“I am confident their skills and knowledge will substantially contribute to the effective governance of the Commerce Commission.”

The Minister also thanked Commissioner Pat Duignan, who plans to retire from the Commission at the end of the year, for his service.

“I would like to express my appreciation for Pat’s contribution to the Commerce Commission over the past six years. Pat has played an integral part in the implementation of regulation under Part 4 of the Commerce Act and his sound knowledge of finance and economics, with particular expertise on the cost of capital, has added considerable value to the Commission’s work,” says Mr Goldsmith.

Notes:

The Commerce Commission is New Zealand’s independent competition authority and regulatory agency. The Commission is responsible for enforcing laws relating to competition, fair trading, and consumer credit contracts, and it has regulatory responsibilities in the electricity lines, gas pipelines, telecommunications, dairy and airport sectors.

Dr Jill Walker has extensive experience in trade practices and antitrust economics. She has been a Commissioner of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) since 2009 and an associate member of the Commerce Commission since 2010. She chairs the ACCC’s Mergers Review Committee and Adjudication Committee and is also a member of the Enforcement Committee. Prior to joining the ACCC, Dr Walker was a member of the Australian Competition Tribunal and worked as an economic consultant for LECG Ltd. Dr Walker has also worked for the Network Economics Consulting Group (NECG) and CRA International. She is currently a member of the Bureau of the OECD’s Competition Committee.

Mr Graham Crombie is an independent director and chartered accountant. He has 30 years' experience specialising in audit and consulting including at Polson Higgs in Dunedin where he was Chief Executive and a partner and Price Waterhouse. He has international experience through both Polson Higgs and Price Waterhouse. Mr Crombie is the Chair of Dunedin City Holdings, Dunedin City Treasury, Otago Museum Trust Board and NZ Genomics Ltd. He is also a director of Surf Life Saving NZ. He was previously President and Chair of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. In June this year, Mr Crombie was appointed as a Deputy Commissioner of the Southern DHB.