Key John: Consumer Protection (Definitions of Goods and Services) Bill — In Committee 
Key John: Consumer Protection (Definitions of Goods and Services) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:609;Page:6906] 
JOHN KEY (NZ National—Helensville) 
: Members will be aware that clause 13 in Part 4 tends to widen the definition of the term “goods”. It states that to avoid doubt the definition of “goods” includes computer software. The Law Society’s submission challenged that ruling on the basis that software is a licence. 
I ask the Minister in the chair the Hon Judith Tizard to clarify the issue of CDs and DVDs. I personally do not consider computer software to be a good. I agree with the Law Society’s view that there is a licence to use software. Let us expand our minds for a moment here in urgency to think about the issue of CDs. When I purchase a CD—the physical good—I want it to work in my machine. So that is a good. But if I happen to be purchasing a CD that is unknown to me—and let us imagine for a moment that I purchase a CD of Eminem I have a feeling that would offend me especially— 
Hon Judith Tizard 
: Your kids would love it though. 
JOHN KEY 
: My 8-year-old absolutely loves Eminem so I try to get him the toned-down version—the edited censored version. Under this definition would a CD like that be a good and what part of a CD is a good? Under this definition just as computer software is deemed to be a good would the music on the CD be a good? I think I am hearing the Minister say no. 
Let us think about DVDs.  
Once Were Warriors The Piano The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe  
or  
Licence to Kill— 
there are hundreds of DVDs that we could think of. So I purchase a DVD and put it in my machine. The physical DVD is a good but would the actual contents of the DVD be deemed to be a good under the definition used in the Sale of Goods Act as amended by this legislation? I am not worried about the physical form of the CD because I can check that in the shop and there is only a limited number of things that can go wrong with it. But I am worried about what is actually on the CD or DVD. I suspect that the answer is quite correctly that CDs and DVDs are not covered by this bill. But it does cover computer software so when I go to the same store and buy my CD I am applying a different test to computer software than I am to CDs and DVDs. There is a great inconsistency here. I would not be surprised if we pushed this debate well into tomorrow in order to add this new category that I have now thrown up. This shows that the bill did not spend enough time in the Commerce Committee and why it is an absolute outrage that we are expected to rush this bill through under urgency— 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Why urgency? 
JOHN KEY 
: Exactly! Why are we having urgency when there is a clear loophole here for CDs and DVDs? 
I can think of another example. Would a franchise arrangement be deemed to be a good? The definition of “goods” includes “all chattels personal other than money” etc. We know the reason that money is not deemed to be a good. It is because Samuelson described money as value in exchange as the Associate Minister of Finance will know from his days in Economics 101. Money has no intrinsic value and therefore it would be ridiculous to define it as a good. In fact some people argue that money does no good and does not bring happiness. But would a franchise agreement for a KFC shop in Helensville be deemed under this definition to be a good? That is a very challenging question and while we are here in urgency I am glad we have a number of officials to advise the Minister on whether a franchise agreement for a KFC shop in Helensville would be a good. If computer software is to be caught under the definition of “goods” in the Sale of Goods Act why is a KFC shop not a good?