Young Jonathan: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Young Jonathan: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth) 
: 
 I really enjoyed the Opposition member’s Budget debate but today we are looking at the Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill. We all love cars; we are a country that loves cars. We are a nation that is filled with long roads and we enjoy getting in our cars and driving around our nation of New Zealand to enjoy the sights. Most blokes like a car that has reasonable power and looks good and smart. The problem is that we can rush out and buy something just on a whim if we have the spare cash. A lot of people go out and buy vehicles and later regret it because they have bought something that is not exactly what they thought it would be. They may have bought the car because it was a good colour a good shape or had a powerful engine. 
The Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 brought regulation and confidence regarding motor vehicle sales into the New Zealand market. There was then a 2-year review which was completed and reported back to the House in 2006. Here we are 3 years later bringing those recommendations to the House as an amendment bill. Although the process has taken a tremendously long time—an amount of time that we think is far too long for a review to be sitting around doing nothing—we are aware that the industry is looking for the review to come into play and to be legislated as an amendment bill so that improvements to the original Act can be seen. 
The bill brings a number of changes. It closes a loophole in order to ensure that traders who have been convicted under the Act will receive an automatic ban. That is very important. We need confidence in our nation; we need confidence in order for people to feel that the investment they make in assets that cost a lot of money will be as safe as possible. When people are unscrupulous and have not been banned from having registration it brings a lack of confidence into the industry. The motor vehicle salespeople who do a fine job and have integrity need to have these amendments in place to enable New Zealanders to have confidence in them. The bill shores up people’s confidence when they realise that a dealer who is registered is a reputable person and can be trusted. 
A lot of people just go out and buy a vehicle because they like the colour shape or sound of it. Some people might go and kick tyres and look down the line of a vehicle. They might want to negotiate and look at the market to see what is available around the place. But a lot of people do not do that; they see something they like and if they can be convinced that the best thing for them to do that day is to buy that car then they might go home owning a car. But it could be a vehicle that has a lot of serious problems later on. When one buys from a registered salesperson one should have confidence in their integrity and confidence that the salesperson will stand behind his or her product. 
Simon Bridges 
: Does this bill achieve all that? 
JONATHAN YOUNG 
: It does indeed. The bill ensures a regime whereby there is registration and when salespeople do not comply with the registration—and especially when people are convicted under the Act—they will receive an automatic ban. It is always important I believe when people are going to be purchasing a vehicle for them to check out whether they are buying it from somebody reputable. 
The bill also removes the requirement for a private seller to display a consumer information notice when selling a vehicle. That might seem a small thing but it is very important. That consumer information notice usually says that the person selling that vehicle will stand behind it and he or she is obligated to offer protection to the purchaser. The reality is that a private individual who might at present need to display that notice actually does not have that obligation so it actually misleads the purchaser. Also that consumer information notice gives a sense of confidence that motor vehicle salespeople wish people to understand that they offer and which they offer of course at some expense in terms of backing up the product they sell. 
The bill removes car market operators from the definition of “motor vehicle trader”. It increases the financial limit on the jurisdiction of the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal from $50000 to $100000. It also amends the annual renewal registration to remove the current requirement for an annual statutory declaration. These measures will bring improvements to the Act. They may not be huge measures but they will fine-tune and make the Act more usable and more applicable. 
One of the things that National has committed to doing as a Government is removing unnecessary regulation and the compliance cost of it. We do that in this amendment bill in order to create an environment that is more financially viable for people who work in the motor vehicle environment. 
Confidence is an essential commodity when it comes to trading and never more so than in times such as these when we are in the midst of a financial recession of proportions not seen since the 1930s. Having confidence in the regulatory regime is critical for the purchaser but also for the seller as people are more willing to purchase when there is confidence. These amendments which lift the level of confidence in the industry will serve both the purchaser and the seller well. Added to that the bill seeks to put in measures as I said before that will reduce regulatory compliance costs. 
Changes to the motor vehicle trader registration regulations will benefit the industry. They will benefit the industry with the compliance aspects and they will bring a reduction in costs. I do not think anybody out there is happy about unnecessary duplication and the cost of it. We want the Government to be more efficient in times of stricture and finance so if there is unnecessary duplication—and with that associated cost—it makes perfect sense to reduce it. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I will keep it going till 6; don’t worry. 
JONATHAN YOUNG 
: The member will keep the debate going till 6. I thank Trevor very much. When it comes to purchasing a vehicle—especially a second-hand used or as many people say a pre-loved vehicle—people purchase a vehicle for many many different reasons. Truly discerning buyers show no emotion exude no trust are disinterested and will probably look down the side of the vehicle. When they become interested it will be by stealth. They will check through all the other dealers within a 300 kilometre radius to see what prices and mileage the other cars have. When they eventually return to the original salesperson they will have the engine checked by an independent person. They will probably walk away for another day maybe 2 days perhaps even a week and go cold on the deal because there are another thousand deals to look at. It is a bit of a game. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Why does this story have such a sad ending? 
Hon Simon Power 
: I’m with him. Why does it have such a sad ending? 
JONATHAN YOUNG 
: The sad ending is that probably like many other members of the House here I have bought and sold many vehicles and I have had my share of vehicles which I will not tell stories about lest I embarrass myself. 
Hon Member 
: What’s the best car you’ve had? 
JONATHAN YOUNG 
: I will tell members what the best car that I had was. The best car that I purchased and the one I loved the most cost me the most because I did not buy it prudently. I did not buy it in such a way that I had confidence in the person who sold it to me. Unfortunately the actual cost of the vehicle was the lowest cost. 
Hon Simon Power 
: What sort of car was it? 
JONATHAN YOUNG 
: It was a Renault R25. 
Hon Simon Power 
: They saw you coming. 
JONATHAN YOUNG 
: They saw me coming. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I am sorry to interrupt the member. I am sure we would all like to hear the rest of that story. Is the car still running? 
JONATHAN YOUNG 
: I would like to hear Trevor Mallard’s story about the worst car he ever bought. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: I will invite the Hon Trevor Mallard to tell us.