Guy Nathan: Real Estate Agents Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Guy Nathan: Real Estate Agents Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:649;Page:18439] 
NATHAN GUY (National) 
: 
 We are speaking to the Real Estate Agents Bill under urgency. It is a bill that the Government wants to ram through the House. At present we are debating the title and the commencement date. 
I have been thinking about appropriate names for the bill which is overseen by the Hon Clayton Cosgrove. I wondered whether it should be called the “Cosgrove Sledgehammer Bill” or indeed the “Cosgrove Hates Real Estate Agents Bill”—that is another option—or the “Cosgrove Calls Them Land Sharks Bill”. I have heard several interviews with the Minister where he has berated real estate agents in public and called them land sharks and shonky crooks. I cannot believe he would belittle people in our community who are actually doing their best. 
This bill is all about Clayton Cosgrove wanting to make a name for himself. The Labour Party list has just come out. It is interesting to see the literature that has come into my hands. In the past Clayton Cosgrove has wanted the people of Waimakariri to elect him to Parliament but I see that that member who is overseeing this bill is now reliant on his placing on the list. It is ironic how things change when one puts one’s finger in the air. The member overseeing this bill is now reliant on his placing on the list. How times have changed! I am sure that when we are on the campaign trail the good people of Waimakariri will be reminded that that member says one thing then delivers another. 
I think an appropriate comment on this bill would be whether although some in the industry support reform its commencement date just 14 months from now gives sufficient time. It is a fairly big reform of the industry. National members would have thought that an appropriate commencement date would be in about 2 years’ time and in our minority report we put that recommendation. It is good that the Minister has acknowledged it but he has moved the date by only a little bit—about 2 months. It is also good to have on the record that the Minister and his officials believe that the date gives sufficient time for the measures to be implemented. 
The National Party has some real concerns about this bill about the commencement date and about whether the wording of the title is appropriate and I have commented on those concerns this afternoon. I look forward to making even greater remarks when we move to the third reading this evening under urgency. The Government will be ramming legislation through the House for 13 hours today—we will sit until midnight—and I look forward to my colleagues making some very good contributions in the third reading. We believe that this item is significant for the real estate industry and that the Government is being too bureaucratic. It has got it wrong. That was conveyed during the select committee process which attracted hundreds of submissions. It has taken the Government a long time to get the numbers to have this bill go through the House under urgency this evening. I look forward to the third reading which will probably be after the dinner break when we can make some further contributions.