In the chaos of the weekend, we had planned to write this article, but didn’t get to, but now here it is!

On 1 September 2019, 4 days ago, PM and Business Minister FinePorpoise announced a Competition Inquiry Into Building Materials Markets. Wait, what does that mean? Well, basically, the government will have the Commerce Commission hold an inquiry to see if there are any factors effecting the competitiveness in the building materials industry.

This will be the first inquiry of its kind, after the Commerce (Competition Inquiries) Amendment Bill was passed under 3 months ago, as a private member’s bill from FinePorpoise. At the April 2019 election, such a bill was promised by Fresh3001 during a speech about growing the economy.

Some matters to be considered will include the structure of the building materials industry, the conditions and potential barriers for entry by potential competitors, and features of the market that are not in the long term interest of consumers.

FinePorpoise, in a press release after the inquiry was announced, stated that “As it stands, building materials are generally more expensive than in other countries and the market has very little competition. This drives up the cost of development, and these costs are passed on to prospective buyers and renters. It is a state of affairs that cannot continue if we are to make living affordable for more people.”