Katene Rahui: Securities Disclosure and Financial Advisers  Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Katene Rahui: Securities Disclosure and Financial Advisers  Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:652;Page:1557] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 On the eve of the first reading of the Securities Disclosure and Financial Advisers Amendment Bill the New Zealand dollar plunged to a 6-year low. Anyone trading on our dollar yesterday would have earned a meagre US49c per New Zealand dollar. Suddenly the precarious state of the global financial economy is hitting home in dollars and cents. Then by the end of yesterday came the other shocker: Sealord was planning to lay off 180 workers with further wage cuts imminent. That announcement has particular meaning for our whanau. Many of my nieces nephews and cousins have been working for Sealord for decades. Indeed Sealord provided me with my first pay packet many years ago. We then learnt overnight that not only are there worst-laid plans about discarding workers many of whom are Maori but also there are rumours afoot of a possible $70-a-week cut in wages. 
The signs certainly indicate that we are facing the worst international financial crisis for many years. Desperate situations can strike fear in the hearts of even confident investors who will be nervous that Government interventions may undermine their interests. In this context the Government has moved slowly surely and soundly. While the dollar fell in one direction the Government moved in another yesterday placing Mascot Finance in receivership. It has become the first finance company to benefit from the Government’s retail deposit guarantee. With that move depositors can expect to enjoy a certain confidence that even if an approved financial institution fails their money will be secure. 
But as any reputable financial adviser will know the change needed to address the current credit crisis will not occur from one initiative alone. And so enters the Securities Disclosure and Financial Advisers Amendment Bill. The decision to remove unnecessary impediments to the raising of capital is not a new idea by any means. But as they say if an idea is worth having once it is worth having twice. The bill is a response to a recommendation from the Capital Market Development Taskforce—launched last July—to develop capital markets for New Zealand. The task force which includes Ngati Porou business leader and the chair of the Business Roundtable Rob McLeod had been meeting along with the Ministry of Economic Development Treasury the Reserve Bank and the Inland Revenue Department to find ways to improve businesses’ access to capital. The 10 representatives of the private sector in the task force along with Government officials have been working to develop a simplified disclosure prospectus. But it has not just been a job for the boys or a report written by and for the chosen 10 experts; the bill also reflects recommendations made by the New Zealand Exchange. Furthermore having the Cabinet paper and various related documents available for download from the Ministry of Economic Development website means that the concepts are virtually open to receive the broadest public support. That is how it should be. 
The interest of all parties is about the clarity of the arrangement. The bill seeks to ensure that the rules work better that information is efficient and duplication avoided and that the disclosure documents are simplified. Disclosure statements must be kept up to date and must not be deceptive misleading or confusing. The ultimate goal is that the amendments set out in this bill provide greater certainty to businesses wanting to raise capital in today’s troubled markets. Part 1 makes the simplicity explicit: instead of an investment statement investors will be sent a simplified disclosure prospectus. Before investors are asked or encouraged to subscribe potential investors will be given time to consider all the necessary information. 
The Securities Disclosure and Financial Advisers Amendment Bill is a result of the Government’s decision to act boldly. It ensures that all relevant information is available to prospective investors while at the same time ensuring that any unnecessary barriers are removed. The bill implements ways to improve businesses’ access to capital and reduce the costs of raising capital. It is about making things easier streamlining the raising of capital and making things happen for listed issuers. Instead of duplicating the information faced by many businesses listed on the stock exchange when they make a securities offer there will now be a simpler clearer process. 
We have to be aware however that no matter how successful this bill is in making it easier for all companies—listed and unlisted—to raise capital there are still huge problems with the assumption that exponential growth is an ideal we all want to sign up to. No one can ignore the fact that the global financial system is on the cusp of ultimate failure. The recklessness of some banks in squandering depositors’ funds and the drowning of a market that was already flooded is simply not sustainable on a finite planet. Simply printing more money or assuming that the stock exchange is the all-important vehicle for creating wealth will only exacerbate the problem. Theoretically we may end up with a lot of money and no resources. 
The New Zealand Exchange chief executive Mark Weldon told Maori who were gathered at the Maori economic workshop that the economic crisis posed threats to Maori especially those in low-skilled occupations such as construction. The enormity of this issue must not be trivialised. We are at a turning point where not only must we tackle inflation raise capital and find ways to support the productive sector but also we must ask searching questions about the very nature of the economy and the society we are producing. Central in this must be the question of how well the living standards of New Zealanders are being taken into account. This bill is but one of many strategies that must be taken into account in order to lift living standards for New Zealanders. The Maori Party will support it at the first reading to enable the doors to be opened and new ideas to come in. Thank you.