New Zealand suppliers are fearful of speaking to the Commerce Commission about anti-competitive behaviour in case they are blacklisted across the Tasman, Labour MP Shane Jones has claimed in Parliament today.
Mr Jones last week claimed in Parliament that supermarket chain Countdown was demanding retrospective payments from local suppliers for historic losses on the sale of their products or face having their goods removed from the supermarket chain's shelves.
The commission is assessing the complaint it received from Mr Jones shortly after he first made his allegations and is allowing suppliers to come forward anonymously with information as it considers launching a formal inquiry .
Again under the cover of parliamentary privilege this afternoon, Mr Jones asked Commerce Minister Craig Foss whether he was ``concerned that despite anonymity... New Zealand based suppliers are fearful that what they tell the regulator could be passed on to [Countdown parent company] the Australian Woolworths supermarket chain and they could end up blacklisted off Australian supermarket shelves''.