Paraone Pita: Real Estate Agents Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Paraone Pita: Real Estate Agents Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:649;Page:18450] 
PITA PARAONE (NZ First) 
: 
 My presentation in this the third reading of the Real Estate Agents Bill probably will not be as dramatic as that of the previous speaker Simon Power. 
Hon Annette King 
: What about as loud? 
PITA PARAONE 
: I do not need to be. But I ought to say that I do agree with one of his sentiments and that is that no one political party has all the answers. I always thought that politics was about getting the numbers and to get the numbers one had to negotiate one’s own positions. Notwithstanding who may have been responsible for the five points the previous speaker alluded to I think the important thing for consumers in this country is that this bill will give them confidence in the profession of real estate agents. 
New Zealand First supports this bill as we have done right from the start. In the first reading when one of my colleagues made our presentation we supported this bill going to select committee. Why? To allow the people of New Zealand to have their say. As the report back from the committee indicates over 1300 submissions were received. Hearings were recorded to almost 700 of those submitters. Quite clearly there was a need for change. Quite clearly any change required responsible law. In both cases this bill does provide that. Part of the responsibility is providing consumer protection but also protection to those within the profession. This bill establishes the Real Estate Agents Authority which will essentially be a Crown entity. It will consist of seven members all requiring certain qualifications in order to sit on that board. It brings to an end self-regulation which has pervaded this profession up to this point in time. It is that self-regulation that has drawn the criticism from the general public. 
I have heard comments about the attitude taken by the Minister. Other Ministers may have approached the legislation quite differently but I think it is important that at the end of the day we end up with legislation that is responsible and provides increased protection for the consumer. The bill outlines a complaints and discipline procedure. We think these procedures allow issues to be dealt with quickly and justly. 
Another point raised by critics of the bill was the issue of property management. I said in my second reading speech that property management was outside the scope of this bill. A subsequent speaker said that it was not. However when I made reference to consideration being given by the Minister to having the whole issue of property management reviewed he indicated that that review would fall in line with the time in which this bill is to come into effect. 
As I said earlier on this bill will go a long way to restoring the confidence of the New Zealand consumer in this profession. I know that probably some members within that profession will feel that the bill goes too far; others conversely will think that the bill does not go far enough. With regard to those people who have criticised the bill in this House today I wonder what they will do if they are given the opportunity to be in Government and whether if their criticism of this bill is such that they would repeal it. No comment was made in that regard. 
I want to also make reference to criticism about the Supplementary Order Paper that allows a 14-month time frame for the bill to take place. There was comment about the fact that in the Lawyers and Conveyancers Act they required a period of 2 years. My response to that is: why should the New Zealand consumer have to wait 2 years before the protection that this bill will afford them kicks in? I personally think that even 14 months may be too long but it is much shorter than the 2 years that some people in this House would like to see. 
I do not need to go on any further about this bill. I think the Supplementary Order Paper introduced by the Minister addresses a lot of the concerns that critics of this bill had. I take this opportunity to thank the members of the select committee. I also take the opportunity to thank the Minister for allowing New Zealand First to make its submissions and express our concerns about the bill which has seen some of our concerns addressed in the Supplementary Order Paper. I commend this bill to the House. 
Debate interrupted.