Hipkins Chris: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Hipkins Chris: Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) 
: 
 The Labour Party will be supporting the first reading of the Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill. It is somewhat ironic and it may be symbolic that we are discussing this particular bill—which in essence reduces the compliance costs for used-car dealers—today rather than focusing on in the words of the Government the issues that matter. At a time when 1100 people are losing their jobs on a weekly basis— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: How many? 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: A total of 1100 people are losing their jobs on a weekly basis yet the most important legislation this Government wants to bring before the House is a bill that reduces the compliance costs for used-car dealers. 
Government members think that reducing the compliance cost for used-car dealers is more important than creating jobs. They think that reducing the compliance cost for used-car dealers is more important than making sure that people can pay their mortgages. They think that it is more important than closing the wage gap with Australia. Was that not one of their key manifesto commitments at the last election? They were going to close the wage gap with Australia yet nothing has come before this House that will do anything to close the wage gap with Australia. 
This is a lazy do-nothing Government that is interested just in passing legislation most of which was developed by the previous Labour Government rather than coming up with anything original. It is not focused on the issues that matter and that is why we are debating the Motor Vehicle Sales Amendment Bill rather than legislation to get the economy moving and to create some jobs in the economy. 
It is symbolic that we are discussing used-car dealers. I ask members whether there are similarities between the approach of a used-car dealer and the approach of a lot of National members. They will tell voters anything that they want to hear so that they can make the deal even if they have absolutely no intention of sticking to their promises. They are a lot like some of the dodgy used-car dealers that the legislation passed in December 2003 was designed to target. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: I’m getting a warm glow. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: That is dead right. The used-car dealers are more important to the National Government than people in New Zealand who are losing their jobs. 
What does this bill do? The bill amends an Act that is designed to protect consumers in relation to motor vehicle sales. Although the bill is important and I reiterate that the bill is important it is certainly not addressing the most important issue facing New Zealanders at the moment. 
New Zealanders are concerned about their jobs. In fact people in the motor vehicle industry are also concerned about their jobs. A survey in January carried out by the Motor Trade Association showed that over 200 people have lost their jobs in the motor vehicle industry. A press release from the Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association highlighted that a fifth of New Zealand’s 2000-plus used-car dealers have closed down in the past 6 months as the recession bites. As fewer and fewer people are employed in this industry the National Government thinks it is more and more important to deal with this industry’s concerns rather than deal with the thousands and thousands of New Zealanders who on a weekly and monthly basis are losing their jobs. The National Government thinks this is the most important legislation to bring before the House. Industry groups say the closures and cut-backs at surviving dealerships have wiped out at least 10000 of the 50000 jobs in the used-car business. That is another example of jobs being lost under this National Government yet it has no real plan to do anything about it. It has absolutely no solutions. 
Recent statistics have also shown that the trend in motor vehicle retailing continues downwards. Once again we are focusing not on an issue that matters but on something that the National Government wants to put through the House just to make it look like it is doing something. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Spurious. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: It spuriously looks like it is doing something rather than actually putting any legislation or any proposals before the House to create jobs. New Zealanders are looking to this Government to show some leadership and there is none. The Government is showing absolutely no leadership. 
One thing that this bill does is to remove the requirement that when people sell their car privately but use a sales lot to sell it they put a bill of sale in the window explaining what it is that someone is buying. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: That’s compliance. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: That is right; it is deemed to be a compliance cost. People will not have to do that any more. 
But if National was selling the car we know that the bill of sale in the window would not mean anything anyway. National members would just write down whatever they thought they had to write down in order to get someone to buy it regardless of whether they were intending to deliver what they had been promising. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: Like the tax cuts. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: It is a lot like the tax cuts. The No. 1 promise on the bill of sale from National at the last election was the tax cuts. It passed them straight away then within 6 months it took them away again. The bill of sale from National was completely worthless. It is ironic that we are removing the requirement to put a bill of sale in a used car when someone is selling it privately on a lot but we know that if National was selling the car the bill of sale would not mean a damn thing anyway. Frankly National members like a lot of used-car dealers say whatever they like. The silver tongues over in the National Government— 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: That’s David Garrett. 
CHRIS HIPKINS 
: —it is David Garrett who has the silver tongue—would say whatever they need to say in order to get people to buy whatever it is they want to sell regardless of whether they intend to deliver on their promises. 
This bill is symbolic of National because it thinks that reducing compliance costs for used-car dealers is more important than coming up with any kind of plan to create jobs for New Zealanders at a time when 1100 people are losing their jobs on a weekly basis. In fact it could be 1101 if Sam Lotu-Iiga would give up one of his jobs. 
Debate interrupted.