Samuels Dover: Real Estate Agents Bill — First Reading 
Samuels Dover: Real Estate Agents Bill — First Reading 
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Hon DOVER SAMUELS (Labour) 
: 
 Kia ora tatou Mr Assistant Speaker. I would like to take a short call on this Real Estate Agents Bill because when somebody mentions the word “shark” my ears prick up. Why? As a diver who has been diving for many years and as a fisherman it has been my experience during my life to encounter many kinds of sharks starting from the  
Carcharodon carcharias 
 which is the white pointer or the “white death” the mako shark the thresher shark the orca the blacktip shark the whitetip shark—you name it; I have dealt with them all both as a fisherman and head-on as a diver taking photos. 
I am very interested in Simon Power’s analysis in terms of land sharks. 
Simon Power 
: Have you read the bill? 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS 
: Yes I am speaking to this bill. That member has mentioned land sharks on many occasions and I think it is appropriate that I get up in reply. Simon Power said in his presentation that my colleague has offended thousands of real estate agents. Having read the bill I found no provision in it that would offend me except— 
Simon Power 
: Have you read the bill? 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS 
: Yes I have. I listened to the member. The advantage of becoming a diver is that one goes into a silent world and one observes— 
Simon Power 
: You got that right. 
Hon DOVER SAMUELS 
: Absolutely I got it right. In that silent world one observes with wisdom what is actually happening. 
I say to that member and to the House that this bill is not directed at law-abiding decent land agents—and that member knows it. I ask whether anyone has tried to extract teeth from a mako shark and I challenge that member. To say that this bill will wipe out a number of legal law-abiding land agents is a lot of humbug. I will invite that member perhaps the next time I go diving off the Cavalli Islands to come with me. I will look after him and I will take him into the land of real sharks—real sharks. In my area of the Cavalli Islands and Matauri Bay the sharks love legs that look like milk bottles We see flippers half a wetsuit and those white legs and that is when we understand what sharks are all about. They will hone in without any prejudice and discrimination. But I will offer that member that colleague across the Chamber an invitation to come diving with me in the Christmas period. It will be “Pokare Kare Ana” for him. 
To suggest that this bill will cut across the intelligence and the rights of real estate agents who are going about doing their job—come on; get a life! When someone mentioned the word “sharks”—and that member mentioned the word several times—I thought that I had had a lot of experience with sharks. I compliment my colleague Clayton Cosgrove because he has the courage to be able to decide who the real sharks are and who are in between. At the end of the day this legislation is designed to protect the public of New Zealand those hard-working families who are out to purchase a decent house—genuinely—or a piece of land and it will protect them from people who are going to exploit them. 
At this time of the year when there is goodwill to all men and women and a time of sharing and greetings perhaps my invitation to the colleagues across the other side is kei te pai—be of good cheer—even though there are a few sharks swimming around here. No reira. Mihi atu ana ki a koutou. Kia ora koutou katoa. Mere Kirihimete; happy New Year.