Mark de Lautour, chief executive of Open Country, says the review of the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act must not treat the legislation as red tape.

“This isn’t Open Country having a crack at the competition,” he says.

Fonterra remains dominant at about 80% of the milk supply. He says the concern is that the terms of reference suggested DIRA could be relaxed.

“In any definition of market dominance, 80% is there,” he says.

He says DIRA guarantees free entry and exit for farmers, and its guardrails have been diluted at almost every review.

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.