Katene Rahui: Non-bank Deposit Takers Bill — First Reading 
Katene Rahui: Non-bank Deposit Takers Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:674;Page:20536] 
RAHUI KATENE (Maori Party—Te Tai Tonga) 
: 
 Tena koe. I am really pleased to stand on behalf of the Maori Party to take a brief call on the Non-bank Deposit Takers Bill. This bill is all about applying scrutiny to the non-bank deposit taker sector within the context of the review of financial providers. 
A non-bank deposit taker is a rather clumsy mouthful so I had to look up what it actually means. It is any person engaged in the business of borrowing and lending money or providing financial services. I do not know about the rest of the parents in the House but this sounds very much like what I do at home anyway. Perhaps it is easier to explain what a non-bank deposit taker is by the negative—that is what it is not. It is not a bank a building society or a credit union. This is the key issue that I bring to this first reading of the bill: the fact that it does not expressly include building societies and credit unions. The bill states that only credit unions and building societies that issue or that have issued debt securities to the public in New Zealand will be classed as non-bank deposit takers. 
Under Part 5D of the previous legislation the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 1989 credit unions and building societies were classed as deposit takers even if they had never issued debt securities to the public in New Zealand. Credit unions have played a big role in the lives of many whanau. They have given vital support to keep families afloat and to make it easier for people to pay day-to-day bills and stay out of debt. I think the other key fact about credit unions that appeals to Maori is that they are member-owned organisations so they place priority on what is important to members. 
One credit union that I am particularly familiar with is New Zealand Credit Union South. It has to be said that its focus is as comprehensive as one would expect from any service operating out of Te Wai Pounamu and needing to encompass such a huge geographical space. Its focus extends far and wide to areas like the first-home buyers’ grant car accident insurance claims child support statutory holiday pay and anything else that one can think of. I acknowledge in particular the way that New Zealand Credit Union South responded after the disastrous events of 22 February in Otautahi. It in cooperation with the Colin Smith Memorial Fund established the Christchurch Earthquake Relief Fund with the support of the New Zealand Association of Credit Unions. The funds were to be distributed to any credit union members affected by the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake. A recent statement by the chief executive of New Zealand Credit Union South says it all: “We realised our only purpose was helping individuals and families in our communities to become financially stronger—full stop.” 
I bring this up as an example because the issue of finding financial support in a way that supports whanau is crucial to whanau well-being. I am also conscious of a report that the Maori Affairs Committee received in 2009 on fringe lending and Maori which I think offers some fascinating reasons for why we need to ensure any review of financial providers is comprehensive in its scope. In that report it is suggested that Peak Learning a service contracted by Work and Income to deliver management support to beneficiaries had commented that most of its referrals were Maori. The clients cited shame embarrassment shyness and a fear of rejection from banks and credit unions as the main reasons they used beneficiary-friendly lenders. 
The Maori Party will support this bill at its first reading because we support the broad goal of establishing and maintaining a sound and efficient financial system. We will be keen to hear what the punters think at the select committee process about the range of institutions that are currently out there that supplement the mainstream banking system and that should be considered in this bill. Kia ora.