At our recent AGM, we reflected on another busy year of championing the interests of consumers across Aotearoa and announced Sally Aitken had been elected to the Consumer NZ board.
Sally currently works at the Wellington City Mission and has worked closely with Consumer NZ through her past role at the Electricity Authority. We asked her a few questions so you can get to know the newest member of our board a little better.
What interested you about joining the Consumer NZ board, and what do you hope to contribute?
I’ve been fortunate to work alongside Consumer NZ in my previous role at the Electricity Authority. It was a privilege to work with passionate people committed to empowering New Zealand consumers with the facts and giving them a voice on some of our most pressing issues. A large part of my career has been focused on communicating technical, complex and often misleading information into language that consumers can understand. Information gives consumers agency and a voice, and in a world of information overload, it’s critical we continue to have an independent, credible organisation that consumers can rely on for the facts. It’s a privilege to contribute my skills and experience to Consumer NZ.
What’s an issue affecting consumers right now that you think doesn’t get enough attention?
The challenge of navigating the facts through a world of opinion, distorted facts and misinformation. Consumers face rising costs and increased uncertainty while also trying to sift out the facts from the fiction. Consumers become more vulnerable to scams and misleading deals, and trust starts to erode. While we hear a lot about “fake news”, the conversation rarely goes to the broader impact of information overload and its role in breaking down societal trust. In a world where artificial intelligence becomes the norm, we need to talk about the facts and trusted sources of information.
When was the last time you had to stand up for your consumer rights – and how did it go?
I recently purchased a new phone online that appeared to be in stock and ready to dispatch. After a week, I contacted the company and asked when I could expect the phone, noting there was nothing on the website to say they were out of stock. The reply advised the product was on its way to the store, delivery date unknown. I politely replied, saying thanks for the update but the information on their website was misleading. No response. I chased up a few days later and requested a refund. Not a major issue, and I did get the refund, but that’s the second time it’s happened to me this year and, from what I can tell, there has been no attempt by either organisation to update the information on their websites.
What’s something Consumer NZ has helped you navigate in the past?
Airlines! I used to have no idea of my rights when it came to flight cancellations. I think my earlier fear of flying meant I assumed airlines had my best interests at heart when it came to flight cancellations – surely their decision was about keeping me safe and for that I should be quietly thankful. No longer afraid of flying and with more information about my rights, I’m never shy to request what is rightly mine and to share this newfound knowledge with my flying friends!
What’s a small consumer habit or trick you swear by?
I never click links in emails or texts I’m not expecting until I’ve done proper due diligence – check the legitimacy of the sender’s email address, google the company, ask around.
Outside of your work, how do you enjoy spending your downtime?
Preferably outside. I love having easy access to the wonderful network of running and hiking trails across Wellington’s hills. I used to be big on trail running, but now I’m more likely to hike, walk the dogs or take a cold plunge on Wellington’s South Coast – depending on the colour and smell of the water!
We’re also pleased that Rob Aitken will continue in the role of chair, while Emily Mabin Sutton has been appointed deputy chair.
At our AGM, chief executive Jon Duffy gave this speech:
As I noted in the 2025 Annual Report - 2025 was a challenging and complex year for CNZ.
Our mission is to understand the changing consumer landscape and help more people in Aotearoa navigate it with confidence. We delivered to that mission in 2025, with our future of insurance and dark patterns research being standouts for demystifying emerging consumer trends and making recommendations to increase fairness and improve protections for all consumers.
We settled our greenwashing litigation with Z Energy under the Fair Trading Act. While this was not the day in court many hoped for, it was a pragmatic end to what would have been a protracted legal battle and achieved many of the original aims the plaintiffs set out to achieve when commencing the case.
These examples, along with our work on scams, supermarkets, flight rights and the right to repair, are highly visible to the public. As we detail in our annual report (which is a great read if you haven’t already taken the time), the work we do on behalf of individuals is equally important to our mission. Our test teams continued to pump out results on thousands of products, thousands of individual members relied on our advisors for help with their rights, millions of people visited our websites, nearly a million people used Powerswitch – a record year – and hundreds of thousands of people engaged with our social media and mainstream media content, all of which is aimed at making consumers more confident in fighting for fair.
It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, though.
We were disappointed that, notwithstanding record usage in 2025, our longstanding and productive relationship with the Electricity Authority to support Powerswitch came to an end in 2025, with the Electricity Authority choosing to create its own duplicate service to compete with Powerswitch. However, with the strong support of the Consumer NZ board, we made the call to keep Powerswitch operating so that consumers continue to have a genuinely independent comparison service to rely on.
Thank you to the CNZ team – you do amazing work every day that makes a real difference for New Zealand consumers. Thank you to the CNZ Board for your staunch support of everything CNZ stands for. And, finally, thank you to all the loyal CNZ members for your ongoing support of the work we do – we couldn’t do it without you.
Meet our board members
Consumer NZ is governed by an elected board of seven members who hold office for three years.