Prebble Richard: Motor Vehicle Sales Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Prebble Richard: Motor Vehicle Sales Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:607;Page:4787] 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE (Leader—ACT NZ) 
: 
 I have come down to the Chamber particularly to talk about this part because it is one of those parts that puts Parliament into disrepute. Here we are in urgency putting through a stealth tax. Let us be frank about what the Government did. It went out and talked to the registered vehicle salespeople about a new piece of legislation. The Government introduced the legislation into Parliament and it invited the industry to make submissions to a select committee. At no time did the Minister or any Labour member of the select committee say to the car dealers: “Oh by the way after we have heard all your submissions—after you have gone to the trouble of coming to Parliament—we will put in what is called a Supplementary Order Paper which will not go to the select committee and we will include a provision whereby we can particularly tax just car dealers.” 
I know that this Government has contempt for car dealers because it jokes about them. I say that the car dealers in New Zealand do a good job. Motor vehicle dealers in this country compare very favourably with motor vehicle dealers around the world. When we look at the problems that people have buying cars they are very rarely from a registered motor vehicle dealer. Is that not right? 
Paul Adams 
: That’s true. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: I now have a member of the profession who is prepared to confirm that. I ask a serious question. When I look at the registered motor vehicle dealers in this country I think that they serve the country well. But this Government thinks that they are just sheep to be shorn and it has the contempt to introduce a tax on them without allowing it to go to a select committee. I say that for just that reason alone we ought to reject this whole bill. It is the style of lawmaking that an arrogant Labour Government has gone in for and this particular Minister the Hon Judith Tizard is known for her arrogance. She treats people with contempt. I doubt whether she knows any car dealers. Certainly none vote for her or that is what she thinks—and they will not after this bill. I ask the Government and the members of United Future how they can support this type of legislation. 
Deborah Coddington sent out a letter to a number of registered car dealers and asked them what they thought about that proposal. The Committee will not be surprised to know although the Minister does not care that they were outraged. They could not credit that a Government could treat them in that way. We have a Government passing legislation to protect the public from car dealers but what we actually need to do is to pass some legislation to protect car dealers from the Government. [ 
Interruption 
] The Government is treating car dealers in a way that would make the member jump up and down and say was an outrage. It is like selling someone a car getting the cheque then at the last minute saying: “Oh by the way I forgot to mention that there are a whole lot of extra taxes owing on this car and you now have to pay them.” I ask the Minister in the chair the Hon Judith Tizard when did she say to car dealers that she was intending to put in this Supplementary Order Paper? She is very silent. Does she not remember or is she too embarrassed to admit that she always intended to do this? Did she? If she did not why did she suddenly have this new idea? 
Paul Adams 
: It was in January 2001. 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: That is very interesting. Is the United Future party going to support this measure? [ 
Interruption 
] The United Future party tells me that the Minister has known about this secret proposal since January 2001 and that it is now going to vote for it. I thought that the United Future party was interested in lifting moral standards. Is this bill not immoral? Is it not immoral to go out and ask the industry to make submissions to gather them all in to listen to them all then only after the submissions have closed introduce a secret tax? Is that not immoral? 
Hon Judith Tizard 
: What’s the tax for? 
Hon RICHARD PREBBLE 
: Hello the Minister is prepared to say something. Let us stop. Oh no it has passed. For a moment I thought the Minister was going to contribute. She has forgotten that her whole strategy is to put this through as a stealth tax. Of course it is not a stealth tax if one talks about it so the Minister does not want to tell us why she has done it.