Macindoe Tim: Non-bank Deposit Takers Bill — First Reading 
Macindoe Tim: Non-bank Deposit Takers Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:674;Page:20541] 
TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
: 
 It is pretty disappointing to hear some of the extraordinary rewrites of history that are going on in one or two of the contributions on the Non-bank Deposit Takers Bill but I do not want to get too bogged down by some of the more dubious contributions of the newer members who have been speaking tonight because in fact this debate has until now been mostly characterised by thoughtful contributions and it is really good to detect— 
Simon Bridges 
: But I haven’t spoken. 
TIM MACINDOE 
: But you do not make thoughtful contributions so if you could just keep quiet for the next few minutes that would be really helpful. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order! 
TIM MACINDOE 
: I beg your pardon Mr Assistant Speaker Robertson. I thank my friend. As I say it has been good to hear that there is cross-party support for this important measure because of course as we all know it will obviously be warmly welcomed the length and breadth of the country although sadly it comes too late for the literally tens of thousands of New Zealanders who collectively lost a large fortune as one finance company after another failed in the middle of the last decade. 
The bill is the important culmination of several years of work to tighten up supervision of the non-bank deposit taking sector. So I thought it was a bit disappointing and disingenuous of Stuart Nash to suggest that the bill should have been on the Order Paper straight after National came to office less than 3 years ago. He knows that the legislative system requires several stages. For Mr Nash’s timetable to be achieved all the work would need to have been done and all the details would need to have been in place as the outgoing Government left office. So it really is extraordinary to hear the pot calling the kettle black in suggesting that somehow National is at fault for the fact that the bill was not all ready to go at the end of 2008. As I say those comments are just a bit disappointing. 
For the record I particularly hope Ms Curran will take notice of this as I want to reassure her that the current Government has been firmly focused on restoring investor confidence in our capital markets after the global financial crisis and the collapse of finance companies and there is a huge amount of work that has been done and has been achieved. There is no question that serious changes were needed to rebuild investor confidence which took such a hammering as a result of the finance company sector collapses. 
We have been absolutely determined to ensure that investors have the confidence to invest and that capital markets are able to broaden and deepen their base and appeal and to be free to innovate where appropriate. We continue to look for ways to do this through the policies we will be campaigning on in the coming election. People need to realise that in New Zealand we have to broaden the areas of industry and so forth that New Zealanders can invest in safely. That will help our economic growth but also it will keep them on a safe pattern of investment. 
We moved very quickly to start the process of reform. Within 3 months of becoming the Government I say to Ms Curran we introduced the Securities Disclosure and Financial Advisers Amendment Bill which was aimed at making it easier for businesses to raise capital while ensuring the timely and accurate disclosure of information to prospective investors. Five months later it was the law of the land. That was not sitting on our hands; that was getting on with the job. By the end of 2009 Cabinet had signed off proposals requiring debt issuers including finance companies dealing with moratoria to give investors tailored disclosure documents and requiring companies already in moratorium to report their progress to investors. 
Then the final Capital Market Development Taskforce report which was led by Rob Cameron was released. That report helped provide the Government with a framework for our work on financial sector regulation. That work included implementing the financial adviser regime which had been passed in 2008. 
The point that I am making is that these are just a few of many steps that we have taken and they have been important they are making a difference and they show a Government absolutely determined to get on with the job and take the important steps that were necessary. 
As an electorate MP one of the more distressing experiences I have had—and I am sure that probably all members of this House could relate similar tales—has been to hear the very sad stories of hard-working law-abiding New Zealanders many of them nearing retirement age who have suffered in this way. We are determined to put things right. 
Bill read a first time.  
Bill referred to the Finance and Expenditure Committee.