Curran Clare: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Curran Clare: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
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CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South) 
: 
 I rise to speak in the second reading of the Motor Vehicles Sales Amendment Bill 2009. Labour is supporting this bill but it baffles me as to why it is being prioritised in urgency. In fact reflecting on that this morning while I was considering what I would say I decided that we should be calling the bill the “Motor Vehicle Sales Very Urgent Amendment Bill”. This raises issues about the priorities the Government is applying to this legislation. Government members seem to think that one of the most important things the House should be giving its attention to today is a bill to reduce the compliance costs for used car salespeople but as my colleague Chris Hipkins said in his speech on the first reading that sums up the National Government. This bill is so urgent that the last time I spoke on it during the first reading was 30 June 2009 so it is a very urgent bill that we must pass today—in urgency! 
Although this bill is important and very urgent and we do support it I ask whether it will address the primary concerns that are facing many New Zealanders right now and I ask why National is prioritising it when the House should be using its valuable time to consider measures to protect New Zealand jobs. Just this week about 175 meatworkers at Bernard Matthews Waipukurau plant are being laid off. That was reported in  
Hawke’s Bay Today 
 on 17 June. That follows Silver Fern Farms’ announcement last week that it plans to cut 174 jobs at two of its Christchurch meat plants. These job cuts reflect a worrying trend and have prompted— 
Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The bill we are actually talking to is the Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill. I do not need to explain any more. I think we are getting away from that. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: The member has raised a point of order of relevancy and a second reading is the tightest debate that we have. I ask the member to refer specifically to the bill. 
CLARE CURRAN 
: In addressing the Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill I was referring to a worrying editorial in the  
Otago Daily Times 
. It described New Zealand’s meat industry as heading for a train crash and that was reported on 15 June. Our meat industry is very important along with our rail engineering industry and many other industries. Yet although we are dealing with the Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill this Government prefers to sit on its hands and do nothing about that industry or many of the other industries where major job losses are occurring. Instead the Government seems to believe that the House’s time is better devoted to legislation on the sale of used cars rather than on the livelihoods and well-being of New Zealand workers and their families. Many of those people are not able or are struggling to afford to run a car let alone consider selling one and buying another one because of the rising costs they are facing and the cost of living particularly in relation to electricity and petrol costs as a result of the emissions trading scheme—costs that are being put on to ordinary consumers. Ordinary people are also facing rises in GST which will affect them and many of them are losing their jobs and struggling to find new jobs. 
While I was reflecting on the bill and its importance in this context I started to think about the used cars that I myself have owned over the years and about the number of cars that other members of the House have owned. I certainly know that our very well-respected Speaker Dr Lockwood Smith takes a great interest in cars. I reflected on my first car and thought I would share with the House a little story about it. It was a motor vehicle that was bought and sold on a number of occasions being constructed in 1948 and being a Morris 10. 
Grant Robertson 
: Very nice. 
CLARE CURRAN 
: It was a very nice car and it cost $125. It was bought I think in about 1978 or 1979. His name was Maurice. When I bought him he was in a paddock. Being a 1948 Morris 10 he had running boards and the old side indicators. 
Chris Tremain 
: Did it have an iPad? 
CLARE CURRAN 
: No but there was a crank that I had to turn sometimes when the engine would not work. With reference to the Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill Maurice served me well for a number of years and was eventually replaced by a 1959 Volkswagen. When I reflect on that I think that a number of members of the House will have owned a number of vehicles during their lifetime and many of them would have been used cars and that would be very relevant to this bill. 
On a more serious note I point out that the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 came into force in December 2003 and it replaced the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act 1975. The Motor Vehicle Sales Act made fundamental changes to the way in which sales of motor vehicles were regulated. This bill amends the Motor Vehicle Sales Act which was passed by the Labour Government in December 2003. The objective of the Motor Vehicle Sales Act 2003 was to promote and protect the interests of consumers in relation to their motor vehicles sales but sadly by that time Maurice had been sold and passed on and I think he ended up in a paddock with again plants growing through him. 
The aim of this bill is to reduce compliance costs close loopholes and improve the effective operation of the Motor Vehicle Sales Act. That Act sought to introduce a new registration regime for motor vehicle traders and make them more accountable to consumers but also to offer some degree of flexibility for participants in the motor vehicle industry. The policy underpinning the Act had several core elements to ensure accountability and accountability is a very very important word. It is something that as members of the House we all take very seriously. These elements included the requirement for those trading vehicles to be registered for more disclosure concerning used motor vehicles and for the provision for consumer remedy through the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal. This bill increases the financial limit on the jurisdiction of the Motor Vehicle Disputes Tribunal from $50000 to $100000 and it is vitally important that consumers have avenues for recourse when it comes to trading. The bill also intends to reduce for traders the compliance costs that are currently associated with requiring an annual statutory declaration to be made as part of the registration renewal process. 
The Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill was referred to the Commerce Committee on 30 Jun 2009 which happened to be the date almost a year ago on which I last spoke on the bill. Now it is very urgent and back in the House today during urgency for its second reading. The closing date for submissions was 20 August 2009 and the Commerce Committee reported back to the House on 14 December 2009. So that is about 6 months—it is 6 months and 10 days ago. We received and considered eight submissions from interested groups and individuals and we heard two submissions. 
I would like to thank my fellow select committee members for their work on this bill as well as the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for its advice. As a member of the Commerce Committee I have helped examine the Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill and recommend that it pass with a number of amendments. It would also be interesting to hear today from other members about their own experiences with used cars. It would be good to hear any interesting stories they could share with the House. I have owned only one car that had a name and it would be interesting to know whether other members have named their cars. I commend the bill to the House.