Goudie Sandra: Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Bill — In Committee 
Goudie Sandra: Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Bill — In Committee 
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SANDRA GOUDIE (NZ National—Coromandel) 
: 
 Thank you Mr Chairman. 
Darren Hughes 
: I thought you said it was important. 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: Absolutely! Every contribution made in this Chamber is important particularly in light of the fact that some very substantive points have been raised by a number of people on this side of the Chamber. The Minister and her colleagues would do well to listen to what is being said and maybe seriously consider the recommendations of Supplementary Order Papers on this bill. 
I refer to the purpose of the bill. After all it is all about disclosure and I made that point in my speech on the title. The whole deal around this bill is about full disclosure but that is not absolutely apparent. When we look at the definition of “full costs” we see that it does not necessarily include the brokerage fee. The opinions we have sought to substantiate the points raised by my learned colleague the Hon Tony Ryall say that brokerage fees are excluded from the definition of “full costs”. 
David Benson-Pope 
: Oh! Ten-dollar Ryall! 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: I invite the member to read the bill and take a call. Perhaps the Minister would care to take a call and give us her interpretation of the definition of “full costs” and whether it includes brokers’ fees. That is a fundamental point. I see the Minister nodding so it is great that she is taking that on board. Hopefully we will see a more positive response to the Supplementary Order Papers from my learned colleague the Hon Tony Ryall. 
Darren Hughes 
: Nobody takes him seriously. 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: QC! 
I want to raise another aspect of the purpose of the bill which is to protect the interests of consumers in connection with credit contracts. What we are looking at doing is providing full disclosure to persons entering into consumer credit contracts because often they do not understand what they are entering into. As a result community law centres are being inundated with people who are unable to fulfil their obligations to the consumer credit contract. There are times when they are being ripped off and they do not understand. 
Kingdom Resources was one of those who mentioned the need to educate these people. Legislation will protect them from themselves only to a certain degree—at the end of the day it is their responsibility so consumer education has been identified as an ongoing issue. Although disclosure is great how will that information be relayed to consumers so as to educate them about the broader services that will be available to them? That has not been clearly expressed in the purposes clause of the bill in the overview or the interpretations. One wonders what consumer education will be entered into and what funds will be put aside to provide some sort of educational services for consumers entering into consumer credit contracts. 
I notice that substantial funds have been put aside so far for the Commerce Commission but I do not believe that any of it relates to the education of consumers. It is an ongoing issue and it will continue to be an issue with the introduction of this Act despite the best efforts of many people to try to protect these people from themselves. Essentially it is protection from themselves because they do not necessarily have the education the understanding or even the language skills to protect themselves when entering into these contracts. 
Will this bill really do it for them? At the end of the day what will be materially different for them—apart from the fact that they will be able to challenge a contract through the hardship provisions or if there is a lack of disclosure? I put it to the House that in so far as it is provided by this bill disclosure will be there but those people will still have a problem. There will still be people entering into consumer credit contracts who do not understand what they are doing. There will still be a continuing problem because they do not understand the cost of what they are purchasing. 
One example was given of a lady who went to what is called a “beat the budget blues” course. She did not believe what she was being told—