Coleman Jonathan: Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill — In Committee 
Coleman Jonathan: Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:629;Page:1523] 
Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (National—Northcote) 
: 
 We have just heard the Labour line from the former member for Napier and frankly I do not think the public is really interested in some sort of inter-fraternity legal tit-for-tat and cheap shots that that member is dealing out there to members with respected legal minds who know quite a substantial amount and who have spent their careers focusing on the legal profession. National actually has brought some excellent legal minds to bear on this whole issue. 
It is a pleasure to be talking at the Committee stage of the Lawyers and Conveyancers Bill 2003. The legislative history of this bill has been well outlined by my colleagues who have preceded me. They have spoken to the various parts and indeed National is supporting much of the bill especially those parts that deal with the regulation of the legal profession. But when we turn to Part 5 which I am about to address we have some serious concerns. That part will establish the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers but I think that any sensible person would agree that there is really very little need for the establishment of such a society. Conveyancing work as lawyers on the benches over there will tell us is already well covered by the legal profession. 
The public are well serviced in that arena and conveyancing is hardly a matter of public complaint or issue at the present time. I have not exactly been inundated with constituents coming in to complain about the issue of conveyancing. In fact I would have to say that Part 5 is really not on the public radar and quite frankly should be extinguished before it ever has the chance of seeing the light of day. 
The reasons for professional regulation are well known to many members of this Committee. When a body is going to be professionally regulated there is a clear objective and the regulator is trying to establish a set of professional standards by which that body will be regulated and the members of that profession will be answerable to their peers. In fact many would say that we could do with such a body in this Parliament. 
The reality is that professional societies do not become established just for any old reason but it seems quite clear that with Part 5 we will be establishing a new professional body the New Zealand Society of Conveyancers for the benefit of seven or eight individuals. Apparently we might even have one or two join from Australia. So we will have a totally new system of regulation that will involve perhaps 10 practitioners and frankly that seems to be almost a waste of parliamentary time. I mean I can see the need for establishing a professional body for the medical profession. We have the Medical Council of New Zealand— 
Brian Connell 
: Why is that? 
Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: Well the medical profession needs regulation. There was a programme on last night called  
Rogue Gynaecologists 
. I doubt whether we will be watching a programme called “ 
Rogue Conveyancers 
”. We have those bodies for when there is an actual need. Conveyancing is already firmly covered by the legal profession. A professional body has to set the ethical guidelines within which its members will operate. The Law Society already establishes those guidelines as they relate to conveyancing and the legal profession. 
In the medical profession in New Zealand there are about 2500 general practitioners. When we are talking about trying to self-regulate— 
Russell Fairbrother 
: What clause deals with that in the bill? 
Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: Well Mr Fairbrother should have a read of the bill. If he had been in the Chamber he would know where we were up to. 
Russell Fairbrother 
: Where’s the medical profession in the bill? 
Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN 
: If the member just had a listen he might find out the relevance. The point is that a certain body of people is needed—a critical mass of numbers—to self-regulate a profession. If there are only seven or eight people who on earth will hear the disciplinary procedures for conveyancers?