Latest Legal Commentaries
Friday, December 05, 2025
The Problem of the Supermarkets
The current problem of the supermarket duopoly can be traced back to a Privy Council decision over 20 years ago ([2004] 1 NZLR 145) which cleared the way for Progressive Enterprises Limited (which operated the Countdown supermarkets) to acquire Woolworths (a competitor) over the protests of Foodstuffs, a second competitor which operated the New World, Pak ‘n Save and Four Square chains of stores. The effect was to reduce the number of competitors from three (normally considered sufficient to guarantee effective competition in a market) to two (normally recognised as giving rise to a state of a cosy duopoly). Progressive had More...
Thursday, October 23, 2025
The Passing of Bill Wilson KC
Former Court of Appeal and Supreme Court Judge Bill Wilson KC has recently died (12 September 2025), a sad event to those who knew him. Surprisingly, this has gone virtually unheralded (The Press being the only report). This note is intended to redress that omission. Bill’s career as a practicing lawyer was a distinguished one. Following his graduation (LL.B and LL.M (Hons)) from Victoria University, he practised for many years at Bell Gully becoming a partner in 1971. While there, he served as a member of the Waitangi Tribunal for 9 years. In 1996 he left the firm to go More...