Tizard Judith: New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Tizard Judith: New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:621;Page:16338] 
Hon JUDITH TIZARD (Labour—Auckland Central) 
: 
 I move  
That the New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Amendment Bill be now read a first time. 
 This is a private bill promoted by the New Zealand Guardian Trust Co. Ltd for Parliament’s consideration. The bill substitutes the name of the Guardian Trust’s parent company from the Royal and SunAlliance Insurance Group to Promina Group Ltd in order to enable the company to transact business with its parent company. 
Guardian Trust has been operating as a trustee in New Zealand since 1883 when the Guardian Trust and Executors Company Act was passed. In 1982 it merged with the trust department of the New Zealand Insurance Company Ltd necessitating the passing of the New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Act in that year. The trust has 14 branches throughout New Zealand and acts on trusts and estates for many thousands of New Zealanders. The Guardian Trust is a trustee company authorised under the New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Act 1982 to carry on business as an executor a trustee a trustee company and in other fiduciary capacities. This Act currently allows the trust to transact business with its parent company which is named and any subsidiary or company associated with its parent company. It also allows it to attain the financial benefit from such transactions which would otherwise be precluded under trust law. The ability to transact business in these circumstances is necessary given the size of the corporate group with which Guardian Trust is associated and the opportunities that may be lost if the ability to transact business with such companies was not available. Similar concessions exist for all other trustee companies. 
The Act currently defines the parent company to mean the Royal and SunAlliance Insurance Group. In a corporate reorganisation that occurred in 2003 the New Zealand and Australian businesses of the Royal and SunAlliance Group were consolidated into one holding company—Promina Group Ltd. As part of that reorganisation Guardian Trust was sold to Promina Group Ltd. Accordingly the objectives of this bill are to enable the company to transact business with its current parent group company Promina Group Ltd and with Promina Group Ltd’s subsidiary and associated companies whether or not they are incorporated in New Zealand; to validate any business transacted with various parent companies subsidiaries or associated companies of its various parent companies whether or not they are incorporated in New Zealand on or after the commencement of the principle Act until the commencement of the bill as an Act; and to ensure that the principle Act accurately reflects the current ownership structure of the New Zealand Guardian Trust Co. Ltd. 
I recognise that a number of select committees—and indeed this House—have wrestled with the issue of whether generic legislation would better protect people who have dealings with the New Zealand Guardian Trust Company. Each select committee has recommended that generic legislation be introduced to deal with the need for the various trust companies to bring legislation of this sort before the House. I hope the select committee will be able to deal with this particular issue in relation to the New Zealand Guardian Trust Company and I hope we will see legislation in some short time so that it will not be necessary for legislation of this type to take up the time of the House and committees. However in the meantime it is so in accordance with the Standing Orders the notice of intention to promote this private bill has been distributed to those persons who have a direct interest in the subject matter of the bill. It has been publicly advertised and I commend it to the House. At the appropriate time I will move that this bill be referred to the Commerce Committee.