New Zealand is gaining an international reputation for "extreme" and unpredictable regulation by its competition watchdog, the Commerce Commission, says Andrew Bascand, managing director of fund manager Harbour Asset Management.
In a submission to the telecommunications commissioner, Ross Patterson, Bascand says the commission's approach puts the success of the Government's ultra-fast broadband initiative at risk, and could be a turn-off for foreign investors considering buying shares in partially privatised state-owned energy companies.
His comments follow what he describes as last month's "policy shock" of draft regulations for the unbundled copper local loop - the traditional mainstay infrastructure of the national telephone system, which fibre-optic cable will replace as ultra-fast broadband rolls out nationwide.
The Government's $1.5 billion subsidy plan is intended to accelerate uptake of UFB, but the Commerce Commission's approach suggests it "has a mandate to tilt the playing field back to copper", while using a flawed benchmarking approach to regulation, Bascand said.
"Telco industry regulation needs to have a policy anchor that is consistent across a broad range of objectives involving customer outcomes, the allocation of capital, and the recognition of the benefits to society in the move to fibre that may not just be consumer-related," he said.