Air NZ wrangle takes new turn

By DANIEL RIORDAN

The worm has turned.

In a new twist to the transtasman regulators' spat over Air New Zealand, the Stock Exchange Market Surveillance Panel is investigating what information Australia's securities watchdog has on the airline.

The move comes after the panel received a complaint on Monday from an Air NZ shareholder about the Australian Securities and Investment Commission's decision to intensify its inquiry into the airline's financial disclosures during last year's collapse of subsidiary Ansett.

The commission said its inquiry, expected to last three months, could result in legal action against Air NZ. It has refused to say whether it believes this action could be taken by Australian shareholders of Air NZ or by Ansett's Australian creditors, who have potentially crippling claims of about $1 billion.

The shareholder, writing to the panel at the urging of the Business Herald, asked that the commission's information be shared in the interests of keeping the market fully informed - one of the commission's main functions.

Air NZ has its primary listing in New Zealand and a foreign exempt company listing in Australia.

Surveillance panel secretary Philippe Leloir said the panel was taking the complaint seriously and hoped to complete its investigation this week.

Stock Exchange managing director Bill Foster said the panel's inquiry would be directed in the first instance at Air NZ.

"It would seem to me that the shareholder's inquiry and the panel's inquiries are really directed at the company and the company itself presumably will be looking at ASIC's statement and deciding whether ASIC has any information the company doesn't have that should be disclosed."

Local regulators were surprised and angered at the commission's move, which was made after the panel had cleared Air NZ over its level of disclosure and before the local Securities Commission has completed its investigation.

Finance Minister Michael Cullen is also known to be concerned at the Australians' actions - as well he might be, given his Government's 82 per cent stake in Air NZ.

Cullen told the Herald a few days ago that he was keen to know what information the Australian body had, but his spokeswoman said yesterday that there had been no developments.

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