Horan Brendan: Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHoran Brendan: Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 16 April 2013. Volume:689;Page:9419. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]BRENDAN HORAN (Independent): I am just absolutely amazed that that side would stand there and tell New Zealand that black is white and white is black when our plumbers gasfitters and drainlayers know what is right is right and what is wrong is wrong. They can certainly see bovine excrement and know what to do with it.What the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Amendment Bill does is vindicate the actions of the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Federation an incorporated society with over 1000 members whose purpose is to ensure that the industry gets treated in a fair and equitable manner. It has been lobbying against the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board a board that is simply not listening to them. It is not listening to the industry that it supposedly regulates. This bill is proof that the federation has been right and it shows that the board its chief executive officer its four legal staff and the Minister for Building and Construction got the interpretation of the Plumbers Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act wrong and the actions taken by them were contrary to the guidelines issued by Treasury and the Office of the Auditor-General.It is vital that the board use its statutory powers properly to gain the trust and respect of the industry but currently this is not the case. The industry is full of suspicion and discontent. The competence of the board and the Minister who appointed its members is questioned by the industry. Given that the industry funds the board through fees many plumbers gasfitters and drainlayers are becoming increasingly disaffected which has led to the establishment of the federation which is now the largest industry organisation in this sector. It was organised just less than 2 years ago. So it should question the competence and actions of the board as the industry has faced a tenfold increase in discipline levies and offence fees in less than 6 years and it is now at the level where the industry—and ultimately the consumer—pays around $1.8 million annually for these functions. That is over $36000 per week for discipline and prosecutions.We do not see other boards that are 100 percent funded by the industry that also pay 100 percent for the prosecution of non-registered people. Is this bill seeking a precedent for other industries? Are people in other regulated industries going to be levied in a similar manner? The cost of housing is very topical at the moment. What will these levies do to the price of housing if others in the construction sector are treated in the same manner as the plumbers gasfitters and drainlayers?Members of this House will be aware that the legislation already provides the board with an inexpensive method of dealing with unregistered persons who may breach the Act by instituting a range of infringement fees. But to date the board has failed to implement this option. Many in the industry challenge the fees they are required to pay and have asked the board for a breakdown of what constitutes the fees. This is the same board that is spending tens of thousands of dollars appealing its deregulation as a registered charity. That is right. It tried to set itself up as a registered charity and got kicked out but with the Minister in its back pocket it is above the law. It wants to charge the industry over $1000 to search for fees information. This is information that should be readily available to all who ask.This bill is a cover for incompetence. The board did not listen to the industry and ended up before the Regulations Review Committee requiring the Government to bail it out. The Ombudsman in a recent report stated the board was wrong with regard to the offence fee and suggested it return over $600000 to the industry. The board is again before the Regulations Review Committee regarding the fees and this bill will again bail the board out of a position it should never have got itself into. You see to quote a famous politician Winston—and of course I am talking about Winston Churchill—thisboard and its relationship with the Minister seems to be odious in the highest degree. I cannot and will not support this bill.