Williams Andrew: Credit Contracts and Financial Services Law Reform Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWilliams Andrew: Credit Contracts and Financial Services Law Reform Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 08 May 2014. Volume:698;Page:17719. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]ANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First): I take a call on behalf of New Zealand First in the Credit Contracts and Financial Services Law Reform Bill. We discussed this at length at our caucus meeting on Tuesday and it got a full and robust discussion. The Minister of Consumer Affairs is not going to like this but I have to inform the Minister that New Zealand First is now not going to be supporting this bill. The reason is that we brought to Parliament’s attention a week or so ago how disappointed we were that caps were not going to be put in place on interest rates in this particular bill. During that speech that I gave previously I pointed out that interest rate caps were applicable in Australia the United Kingdom Canada the United States—in all sorts of other jurisdictions they do apply. Countries that we would consider our sister countries in many aspects see fit to have such caps on their interest rates yet this Government has determined it will not include them in this legislation. As a result of that New Zealand First feels that we cannot support the overall bill because we feel that that leaves such a huge gaping hole in the legislation that it will still allow unscrupulous racketeers loan sharks and such like to continue to peddle their wares in parts of New Zealand where our people are most vulnerable.We know where those places are. The Minister referred particularly to South Auckland and some other areas where low-income families are suffering. Porirua parts of Christchurch parts of Hawke’s Bay—we know all the places where this sort of activity is going on. Interest rates can go to triple digits—triple-digit interest rates compounding. In that situation it is just appalling that this Government has not seen fit to mirror the situation in Australia and the likes of Canada where they have put these caps in place. We just cannot understand the rationale as to why the Government would not include that measure.This bill had so much potential. New Zealand First has said so many times in this Chamber that we will support good legislation but we will point out where legislation is sadly wanting. In this case this legislation is sadly wanting because it leaves a gap where you could drive a whole truck bus or anything else like that through it.It is most disappointing that the Supplementary Order Paper that was put up a week or so ago by Carol Beaumont and the Labour Party was voted down and lost by onevote. It was lost by the vote of the Hon Peter Dunne. Had he voted for it it would have gone through and we would have had interest rate caps included in this bill. It was most disappointing. The Hon Peter Dunne and United Future supposedly stand for family values and all sorts of other principles that they say they espouse but he would not stand up for a situation where many of his own supporters we have been advised thought that it was only right that caps be put on interest rates. Yet when there was a member’s bill a few years ago called the Credit Reforms (Responsible Lending) Bill 2010 which was a member’s bill brought in by Carol Beaumont and was originally put together by Charles Chauvel the Hon Peter Dunne voted for that particular bill and in fact wrote a letter that I read out 2 weeks ago which said that he was in support of it. He said: “I hope that further progress will be made on this issue in the future.”So we have a Minister who in 2010 said that he hoped the bill would go through and that it would be supported and that progress would be made in the future. But 4 years later conveniently because he is obviously under instruction of the Government he determines that he will vote with the Government and allows the bill to be voted down. That is very disappointing and the people ofŌhāriu particularly those who are subject to unscrupulous money lenders should be aware quite rightly that their member of Parliament is voting against putting a lid and a cap on extortionate interest rates.It is with regret that New Zealand First has to advise the Minister and the Government that until such time as they review this and look at putting a limit on interest rates and controls on interest rates and at the levels of interest rates that can be charged in this country we just simply cannot support it. We think it leaves vulnerable people in a very very difficult situation again. Regardless of all the fine print regardless of how the contracts are written regardless of how as we heard from the Minister those people are supposedly given an explanation of how things will be it does not make a jot of difference if at the end of the day the interest rates have no cap on them can be set at all sorts of levels and can be compounding and the amount of repayments can start exploding beyond all belief. At the end of the day those lenders will get around it through the fine print and they will continue to act in this manner. We will have people who can badly do with protection from this Parliament and from this Government against being left paying huge amounts while that money should be going to the health and welfare of their children and their families. New Zealand First will be voting against this bill.