Bidois Dan; Brownlee GerryDAN BIDOIS (National—Northcote): One of the things that surprised me most when I lived overseas was the lower cost of living that resulted. Whether you were talking about utilities retail transportation grocery or other services that was the biggest thing I noticed. I think a big part of that is the lack of dynamism and the lack of competitiveness in New Zealand's sectors. We know that there is a lack of competition in New Zealand. The evidence is clear. There's a large amount of sectors with a concentration of a few large players that dominate the market. There's a large presence of high pricing a lack of new entrants low levels of innovation and also of high profit margins.By these measures there's actually a lot of domestic sectors in New Zealand that meet that definition—the grocery sector my colleague from the New Zealand First Party was talking before about the electricity sector the telecommunications sector the airline and transportation sector and also construction and building to name but a few. The impact on Kiwis is very clear: higher cost of living as a result.Banking is one such sector and the symptoms are clear for us to see. The banking sector as my colleague Andrew Bayly mentioned is dominated by four large players accounting for 90 percent of the banking market. There's very little evidence of new entrants a lack of innovation among the top players and also high pricing and profitability as a result. The impact on Kiwis is very clear in the way of higher interest rates and short-term fixed periods. I mention that because in the US there are 15- to 30-year mortgage periods that people can fix for. In New Zealand it's only up to five and there are extra charges and hidden rates that are applicable.It is my support in the Commerce Commission's recent report on the banking sector—the report made it very clear that New Zealand actually has the second highest return on equity in the countries that were studied in banking so I think the evidence is clear that actually we can and should be doing better as a country.Out of the 14 recommendations that have been well traversed here today I just want to highlight a couple of key areas. The first is around making progress on open banking and that is I think an area where this Government is going to make some real progress in terms of allowing banks and actually requiring banks to share information and data with other banks but also with other potential entrants or players for example in the fintech space.The second such area is around recommendations to empower consumers because ultimately it is about empowering consumers to make the right decision and to get the best outcome as a result. It's quite clear from the report that actually the banking sector is very opaque. It's very hard for consumers to understand if they're getting the best deal and how to switch it to the best deal available.So a number of the report's recommendations are designed to empower consumers and provide them with the information that they need in order to get a better deal and shop around and reduce the barriers to actually getting a better deal so for example enabling better switching between banks. Right now it's very hard if you've got a mortgage to switch from one bank to another and there's a lot we can do to make sure that that is efficient and streamlined. Standardising the way home loans are presented to customers is another area and reducing the cost of switching between lenders and making certain clawbacks restricted. Finally as my colleague Andrew Bayly mentioned it's around making sure mortgage advisers work to promote business competition.So in summary this Government is committed to improving competition. It's all part of our plan to lower the cost of living and get our country back on track.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.SPEAKER: In declare the House in committee for consideration of the Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Bill.