Sceptics have high old time

By CHRIS DANIELS

Courtroom Number 12 in the High Court at Auckland is the biggest courtroom they've got - with plenty of seats in the public gallery for those interested in watching proceedings.

But over the past week the public has not exactly been queuing for entry. The big court room has been requisitioned for a gaggle of lawyers.

All are there for the four-week hearing as Air New Zealand and Qantas appeal against the Commerce Commission's rejection last year of their alliance plan.

There are so many lawyers here that one of the juniors has been running down to the High Court cafe 10 minutes before the morning and afternoon breaks - just to put in the big coffee order for Air New Zealand's legal team.

The past week has been spent on opening submissions, with Air New Zealand lawyer Jim Farmer, QC, taking a couple of days to read out what is supposed to be the big case, the big hit needed to convince the court that the Commerce Commission got it all wrong last year.

It turns out that all the possible public drawbacks of the alliance - higher prices and reduced service - have disappeared. The story now goes that if the alliance is approved, it will be no big deal - the mere threat of entry into the market by some newcomer will be enough to stop the two airlines engaging in any naughty behaviour.

After two days of Air New Zealand's case came the Commerce Commission - first Hugh Rennie, QC, then David Goddard, QC.

Infratil lawyer Jack Hodder spoke of the changing nature of Air New Zealand's case - first it was about to be destroyed in a war of attrition with Qantas, then it was going to be destroyed by a low-cost airline, now it is facing threats from both full-service airlines such as Emirates and the low-cost Pacific Blue.

Everyone needed a "healthy scepticism" when looking at the airline's plan, he said.

Alliance opponents even roped in the father of modern economics, Adam Smith, to bolster their case.

"People of the same trade seldom meet together but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some diversion to raise prices," intoned the great Scotsman.

For anyone wanting to fill those empty seats in the public gallery next week, be warned. You may have already missed the most exciting part of the case.

Things are expected to get even drier in week two, with the much-anticipated arrival of the cast of overseas economists.

These men, who must have all been able to at least build a deck or install a new swimming pool thanks to the long-winded and no doubt lucrative approval process, will be discussing the merits of various economic models used in the case.

Then once the duelling economists are finished, the lawyers are back to work - this time going into even greater depth on their submissions.