Aredwood: Actually this thread should be in the Ask Geekzoners Forum. As the question has the word “What”. And you are not seeking a solution to a specific problem.

 

No, it shouldn't. "Ask Geekzoners" is to ask for personal experiences. Read the subjects of the threads I've moved there. It's no different than Ask Reddit.

The "What" should really be "What is your..." or "What you..."

eracode: Not a rhetorical question.

What if there were no rhetorical questions?

What if I hadn't spent the last three minutes reading this inane thread?

I would have been working and could have made a productive contribution to New Zealand's wellbeing and economy.

Nonsense; you'd have found something else to read :)

Who would review whether having more than one monopolies commission was best for the country? One organisation? Would there be a monopoly on investigating monopolies?

There are two points that I think need to be made clear:

1. "Monopolies are generally regarded as undesirable."  Key word - "generally."  Meaning, in some specific cases monopolies are desirable.

2. A monopoly is defined as "the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service."  While you could argue that a commission of inquiry is a "service", in the context of the definition I would argue that it is not supplying a service, it is performing a regulatory function.  Ergo, a singular commission is not a monopoly, in the same way that the Supreme Court is not a monopoly.

And for the record, I get that this is TIC - still, it can be fun to be precise... :)

Lizard1977:

 

There are two points that I think need to be made clear:

 

1. "Monopolies are generally regarded as undesirable."  Key word - "generally."  Meaning, in some specific cases monopolies are desirable.

 

2. A monopoly is defined as "the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service."  While you could argue that a commission of inquiry is a "service", in the context of the definition I would argue that it is not supplying a service, it is performing a regulatory function.  Ergo, a singular commission is not a monopoly, in the same way that the Supreme Court is not a monopoly.

 

And for the record, I get that this is TIC - still, it can be fun to be precise... :)

 

That is the main definition of a monopoly but the subsidary usage is quite a bit broader e.g. https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/monopoly

It seems absurd to exclude regulatory functions from services just because they don't fit a narrow economic definition. But I think that economists would still include the commissions as providing a service which has a price.

I thought that you might be making a joke that such inquiries never help or serve anyone so they have no economic value. But as long as the commissions help someone or serve a need then they are a service. That's why the Supreme Court can be said to be a monopoly because it has a monopoly on Supreme Court decisions.

There is considerable crossover between the powers of the courts and the powers of the commissions of inquiry which are regulated by the Inquiries Act 2013 and the Commissions of Inquiry Act 1908. They provide a service to the Governor General, representing the Queen, or the government. They are independent of the government and and function as part of the state. They are not public servants but they utilise powers established for public servants. For example, they function with the powers of a district court but a commission member who is a judge can have the powers of a high court judge.

sbiddle:

Who would review whether having more than one monopolies commission was best for the country? One organisation? Would there be a monopoly on investigating monopolies?

 

 

frankv:

 

eracode: Not a rhetorical question.

 

 

 

What if there were no rhetorical questions?

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=187&topicid=251143

floydbloke:

What if I hadn't spent the last three minutes reading this inane thread?

I would have been working and could have made a productive contribution to New Zealand's wellbeing and economy.