Adams Paul: Motor Vehicle Sales Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Adams Paul: Motor Vehicle Sales Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
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PAUL ADAMS (United Future) 
: 
 On behalf of the industry we welcome this new legislation. It is interesting hearing some of my colleagues speaking and I hope that I do not develop the art of taking something that is really so simple and making it so incredibly complex. If one sits in this place for long enough I guess it is an art that one develops very quickly and some members seem to be absolutely expert at it. That is very strange to me because in the motor industry we try to keep things simple. 
Once this legislation is passed I can see that cars sold on the side of the road will possibly be a problem for councils. The bill removes the criterion of having to have a site from which to sell one’s vehicles. To an extent we welcome that because as we have heard the Internet is a good avenue for selling all products not just cars. If a large number of new traders do not have premises or anywhere to display their cars—because to sell something one does have to display it—it will have to be seen whether they feed them through car fairs or go through auction houses. However I am concerned that the councils will be dealing with a large problem of cars on the side of the road and in public places with “For Sale” notices on them. 
The industry welcomes this legislation. As I have said previously our concern is that the standard and entry level for being a licensed motor vehicle dealer has been lowered substantially. It is now very easy to become a dealer—as long as that dealer does not have a police record or any bad marks against him or her by already being in the industry. The industry has had to put up with policing its own regulations. As with any law this law will only be as effective as the policing of it. My concern—and that of most other dealers—is that it be policed correctly otherwise we will find ourselves competing against far more traders who are perhaps a little unscrupulous in conforming to the standards that the industry is setting for itself. Who will police that? 
We talk about a levy on dealers to pay for this tribunal but look at the levy that the dealers themselves have had to pay under the current regime to police unlicensed dealing. It has cost the industry absolutely thousands and thousands of dollars. The industry has worked very hard and I commend those who have been policing that unlicensed dealing but let us hope that it does not happen under this legislation because self-policing an industry is something that we do not want to do. If we have to pay a small levy for a tribunal and everything gets sorted out correctly—that is everybody who is a licensed trader operates under the rules or is dealt with accordingly—then this legislation will work and work well. 
I know that we will see two standards of dealers in the days that lie ahead. We will definitely see dealers networking together and working with integrity a good code of ethics and looking after their customers. But sadly I think that we will see a lower level of dealer operating. Those dealers might be cheaper but it is the same old story—one always gets what one pays for. 
United Future is pleased that we have been able to get this legislation through under urgency. I know that it will be well received by current motor vehicle dealers and that they will thank us for it.