Lees-Galloway Iain: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Lees-Galloway Iain: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
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IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour—Palmerston North) 
: 
 I know Mr Chairperson had a range of speakers available so it is a pleasure to have been chosen amongst those options. 
Hon Member 
: A stellar field! 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: That is right. I add my congratulations to the Minister in the chair John Boscawen. It is fantastic to see one of the wider class of ’08 promoted to such a prestigious position. Minister Joyce jumped the gun on all of us and got straight into the Cabinet but I congratulate Mr Boscawen for the achievement of being the second in the class of ’08 to hold a ministerial warrant. It is also fantastic to see Heather Roy in the Chamber. I know that she was a passionate Minister and she was very keen on driving this legislation through the House. She also took her role as Associate Minister of Defence very seriously and as the Opposition’s associate defence spokesperson I enjoyed some of the exchanges we had and some of the opportunities we had to meet on some of the bases. I know that she was very well respected in the Territorial Force and in the wider forces for the role that she played. So it is great to see her here; she is not a spare wheel by any stretch of the imagination and certainly not a retread. It is great to see her in the Chamber. 
The Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill is good solid technical legislation that will make all New Zealanders better off. Probably everybody at some point in time has to purchase a vehicle whether it be a new vehicle or a second-hand vehicle through a licensed trader or just casually often through TradeMe these days. It is something that most people do so to know that the rules and the protections around that activity are being tightened up in this way will be important for everybody. Although it will probably sail under the radar I think that everybody will appreciate the changes. 
Members have been reflecting on their first vehicle purchase. Mine was a 1979 Honda Civic so the vehicle was a little younger than I am. Like Mr Hipkins I am rapidly approaching my 32nd birthday. I went for a vehicle slightly younger than I was but I have to say that I learnt a lot about doing bodywork on a vehicle with that car because it was an absolute rust magnet. How it managed to pass warrants of fitness each time I am not quite sure but I learnt a lot about how to deal with rust how to reattach the exhaust pipe and all that sort of thing just to make sure it passed the warrant of fitness test each time. If I had had to display any details about that car when I sold it I think I would have been in a bit of trouble. Nobody would have wanted to purchase it but that was probably right because it was not too flash by the time I got rid of it. I traded it in and I really hope that the person who took it off my hands crushed it immediately. It would have been quite easy to crush— 
Chris Hipkins 
: Judith Collins knows. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: Judith Collins would have known how to do it. It would have been quite an easy job; there was not a heck of a lot of metal left in it. It was all bogged by the time I had finished with it. Then I was able to get something that was a little bit better. Clearly if the kinds of protections for consumers in this bill had been around when I got rid of that car I would have found it very difficult to sell in that environment. 
The bill amends the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 which was designed to protect consumers in relation to motor vehicle sales. It is not the most stunning legislation and it will not make the headlines but people will find it important to know that they have those protections in place. The Commerce Committee noted that it was important to distinguish between Internet advertisements that offer the ability to enter into a contract to buy a vehicle i.e. a more formal purchasing contract and the online advertisements that are effectively classified advertisements of the TradeMe style which is so popular these days. That is a very important distinction to make. We support that distinction. We do not want to make a casual car sale too onerous with too many hoops for the person trying to sell a car. That is a good recommendation coming back from the select committee. 
I go back to the issue of crushing and the removal of the requirement for transactions between traders and wreckers to display a consumer information notice. Maybe that is what happened to my 1979 Honda Civic. The purpose here is to display information to consumers; it is not necessary for trader-to-trader or trader-to-wrecker transactions. Again this provision removes unnecessary compliance costs and makes life easier for traders working in this environment. It is really good to see that the bill increases the financial limit on the jurisdiction of the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal from $50000 to $100000. Again this is an area where I have a little experience— 
Moana Mackey 
: Aaron Gilmore? 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: I do not have the kind of experience that members might expect from Aaron Gilmore as I did not invent the process nor did I invent the car and I certainly did not lecture in the field but I say to Ms Mackey that I will come back to that. 
I have been on the receiving end of what I thought was a pretty dodgy transaction from a motor vehicle trader and we ended up in the disputes tribunal. Luckily my dispute involved a figure small enough to go to the disputes tribunal. I know that there are plenty of people who would prefer to take that option rather than the more formal and complex option of going through the courts to resolve a dispute that would easily fit into this $100000 realm so it is great to see that extension. It will make things a lot easier for people who feel as though they have been hard done by. It means that both the trader and the consumer can get a reasonable outcome that determines where the responsibility lay. That is good news for both parties. 
This legislation is an improvement on the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003. The Act came into force in December 2003 and introduced a new regime for motor vehicle traders which served to make traders more accountable and offered more flexibility to participate in the industry. New information disclosure requirements for used motor vehicles were introduced back then and the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal was established. It was good legislation that was introduced in response to the needs at the time and it is great to see this process which was started of course by a Labour Government finally progressing under this Government. It has taken a bit of time for the Government to get around to it but it is good to see it progressing now under urgency in a way that will see it concluded in due course. Perhaps it will not be long before we run out of Labour bills and— 
Moana Mackey 
: Then we’d have another Labour Government. 
IAIN LEES-GALLOWAY 
: Yes by that stage there would probably be another Labour Government and good legislation that protects consumers’ rights will be back in play and progression on that work will be under way. This bill is good legislation and I think consumers around New Zealand will be very pleased to see it pass through the House. It has been a pleasure to speak on it.