Source: New Zealand Government
Attorney-General David Parker announced today the appointment of five lay members of the High Court under the Commerce Act 1986.
Lay members assist the Court in cases involving appeals from decisions of the Commerce Commission and in other matters under the Commerce Act, and play a key role in ensuring that expert evidence on complex competition or regulation issues is properly understood, tested and assessed by the Court.
The five lay members are:
Pat Duignan. Mr Duignan is a finance and economics adviser and was appointed a lay member to the High Court in April 2016 in relation to regulatory matters. He previously served as a Commissioner of the New Zealand Commerce Commission from 2010 to 2015, and as an expert member of the Accident Compensation Corporation Board Investment Committee from 2003 to 2021. He is a director of Munro Duignan Ltd, a corporate finance and treasury risk management advisory business.
Stephen King. Professor King has considerable expertise and experience in economics, specialising in applied microeconomic theory, industrial organisation, competition and regulation. He is a Commissioner of the Australian Productivity Commission and Adjunct Professor of Economics at Monash University in Melbourne.
Tony van Zijl. Professor van Zijl has expertise in financial reporting, audit, capital markets, cost of capital, valuation, and performance measurement and reporting. He has provided litigation support and expert evidence in arbitrations, Commerce Commission hearings, and High Court proceedings. He is Professor of Accounting and Financial Management and Director of the Centre for Accounting, Governance and Taxation Research, Wellington School of Business and Government, Victoria University of Wellington.
Jill Walker. Dr Walker has extensive knowledge and experience in competition law and economics in Australia and New Zealand. She is a member of the Australian Competition Tribunal, most recently appointed in March 2020. She is a consultant on competition and regulatory issues and has been a member of the competition regulators on both sides of the Tasman. She also has experience as an expert witness in competition law cases in Australia.
Lilla Csorgo. Dr Csorgo has more than 25 years’ experience in competition economics and policy and experience in regulation, having held senior economist positions in both the public and private sectors in New Zealand and abroad. Her past roles include Economist Lay Member of the Canadian Competition Tribunal, Chief Economist, Competition Bureau, Canada, Chief Economist , Competition Branch, New Zealand Commerce Commission and Head of Economics, Hong Kong Competition Commission. She is a senior consultant for Charles River Associates.
