KEY POINTS:
Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel is blaming the National Party for blocking an amendment to a bill which would have met concerns raised by the Takeovers Panel about companies avoiding its code.
National's economic development spokeswoman Katherine Rich said Ms Dalziel had tried to use "backdoor amendments" without consultation.
The minister wanted to fit the change into the Business Law Reform Bill, which is under process in Parliament, but she said today National objected to that.
"Tragically, the issue has now had to be referred back to officials for further work before a decision is taken by Cabinet on whether broader amendments need to be made to the Companies Act or whether the regulation-making power in the proposed amendment would suffice," she said.
The Takeovers Panel presented a submission to the commerce select committee when it was considering the Business Law Reform Bill, concerned that some companies were using a procedure that avoided the takeovers' code.
Ms Dalziel wanted to fix that by changing the bill.
"This could not proceed because it was objected to by the National opposition," she said.
Ms Rich said Ms Dalziel had wanted to make late changes to the bill "despite promising that there would be no sneaky inclusions" and turned down the chance to consult the business community.
- NZPA
