Mr Collinge’s contribution to commercial activities is perhaps less well known but nevertheless significant:
(a)Fishing the Economic Sea: Mr Collinge was Chairman of the New Zealand Pelagic Fishing Company Ltd which was the first New Zealand company to operate large purse seine vessels fishing for migratory species of tuna in the Economic Sea Zone and elsewhere in the Pacific. It owned the first such vessel the ‘Finistere’ and the first two such vessels built in NZ –the ‘Western Pacific’ and the ‘Western Ranger’ in which Mr Collinge had a central part in the contracts for joint venture, purchase and construction. This was part of the emerging policy to develop NZ fishing in its 200 mile zone and elsewhere, with a view to replacing foreign fishing vessels.
(b)United Distillers: He was also for a short time prior to his appointment to ALAC Chairman of United Distillers (NZ) Ltd (now Diageo), after being a board member for many years. His services to the spirits industry (legal, business, regulatory, advisory and promotional) in New Zealand were recognised by the award of ‘Keeper of the Quaich’ at Blair Athol Castle by the Scotch Whisky Association [outlined in the citation at page 258]. He is one of only five New Zealanders to have received the award, others being Sir Kenneth Myers and Sir Douglas Myers.
(c)Commercialization of Local Authority Businesses: Mr Collinge brought business skills, acumen and experience to his local authority roles with the AEPB and ARA and his national roles with EDANZ and ALAC.Hewas also a member of the Interim Board which set up and became the Auckland International Airport Board. As outlined above, he applied commercial attitudes and practice to local body roles, this being well in advance of (and later in line with) the general policy reflecting the commercialisation and corporatisation of local authority and national enterprises [see eg pages 86, 271] now accepted as the norm.
In his role as Chairman of the Commerce Commission, Mr Collinge had the public sector objective ‘of promoting competitiveness’ in the private sector. Conversely, he applied the private sector objective ‘of promoting commercial efficiency’ in the public sector [page 271]. As has been said of him, he was able to draw on experience in bothsectors ‘speaking as it were two dialects of a common language with fluency’ [page 85].