Lee Melissa: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Lee Melissa: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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MELISSA LEE (National) 
: 
 I rise this afternoon to support the Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill. This bill will amend the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 to improve its workability and transparency. Workability and transparency are good things but Labour obviously does not seem to understand them. 
The Act came into force in December 2003. It introduced a new registration regime for motor vehicle traders which not only serves to make traders more accountable but also offers more flexibility to participate in the industry. The legislation aims to promote and protect customers’ interests. It seeks to create an environment of confidence within an industry that I think earlier today Mr Hipkins referred to as being dodgy second-hand dealers which is a very bad reputation to have. The legislation makes vehicle traders accountable and provides consumers with redress through the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal. 
This bill seeks to enhance all those functions and more and it is right in line with this Government’s effort to reduce regulatory compliance costs. In these tough economic times it seems prudent that we do so. We are after all working against the backdrop of the worst global recession since the 1930s. Helping businesses—who employ people by the way—by promoting sensible legislation that reduces unnecessary compliance cost is a good thing. 
In addition to the initial review of the Act which was tabled in this House a discussion paper proposing amendments to the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 was released for wider discussion. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs received 18 submissions on the discussion paper and an open forum was held involving industry and consumer representative organisations. The motor vehicle industry and consumer groups have been involved in the development of these proposals. This bill suggests changes to the registration of motor vehicle traders information disclosure and the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal. 
Let us start with motor vehicle sales information disclosure. The Act requires a private seller to display a consumer information notice when selling through a car market. The reverse of this notice displays the consumer’s rights when buying from a trader not a private seller. Are members confused? Well this bill will remove that requirement which can result in consumers thinking that they have more rights than they actually do. This bill also removes the requirement to display a consumer information notice on transactions between traders or between traders and wreckers. The requirement had no value for either party; it was another unnecessary compliance cost. 
In respect of motor vehicle disputes resolution this bill would increase the financial limit on the jurisdiction of the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal from $50000 to $100000 reflecting the increased value of new and used cars. Transparency is important. Changes have been proposed in relation to the disputes tribunal’s reporting clauses to allow all decisions of the disputes tribunal to be made public. The bill provides for costs to be awarded against a trader who does not attend the disputes tribunal hearing without good cause. This bill will close the loophole in the current legislation whereby unregistered traders or those whose registration has lapsed at the time of their conviction or bankruptcy cannot be automatically banned from trading as a motor vehicle dealer in the future. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: Jonathan Coleman wrote this speech. 
MELISSA LEE 
: Perhaps Mr Hughes would like to register himself as a motor vehicle dealer. Currently such people can continue to trade in motor vehicles until the Registrar of Motor Vehicles can take a case to court to ban them. That takes months and incurs costs to the Government. This bill proposes that a person can be automatically banned without being registered under the Act if that person meets specific criteria such as conviction for crimes of dishonesty or a second bankruptcy within 10 years. 
The changes to this bill make sense. They protect consumers’ interests creating an environment of confidence and informed choice. Making vehicle traders accountable is definitely a good thing and making inroads into this industry to reduce compliance costs is definitely a good thing. 
Let us look at the registration of motor vehicle traders. At present people can be appointed as a director between annual registrations without any checks on their suitability. This bill amends the Act so that when a new director of a company or another person involved in the management of a company is appointed his or her notification must be accompanied by a statutory declaration of suitability for registration. It is a very small change but it brings with it adequate protection for consumers that unsuitable people are not legally able to become motor vehicle dealers. 
This bill also amends the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 registration renewal procedure to allow a company secretary to confirm to the registrar that the information held on the register about the company is correct. This is very useful for overseas directors who will benefit from reduced compliance costs. The current annual statutory declaration as part of the registration renewal process is time consuming is costly and serves no purpose if details have not actually changed. 
Protecting consumers is a good thing. As a consumer I am sure that I and the rest of New Zealand will be glad that we will have an environment of confidence and informed choice. This bill is a step forward. It removes red tape and compliance costs from the sale of motor vehicles. The National Government is standing by the promise it made before the 2008 election to tackle regulatory impediments and we are doing that. 
This bill is similar to the bill I spoke on last night the Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill which mops up—yes it mops up—what the previous Labour Government failed to do. It did not finish it and we are mopping up its mess. I commend the Minister of Consumer Affairs Heather Roy who must have had a heck of a hard time deciphering and cleaning up the mess that Judith Tizard left behind. I commend this bill to the House. Thank you.