Goudie Sandra: Consumer Protection (Definitions of Goods and Services) Bill — In Committee 
Goudie Sandra: Consumer Protection (Definitions of Goods and Services) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:609;Page:6898] 
SANDRA GOUDIE (NZ National—Coromandel) 
: In looking at Part 3 I would like to refer to the intention of the Fair Trading Act which is to prohibit certain conduct and practices in trade to provide for the disclosure of consumer information relating to the supply of goods and services and to promote product safety and so on and so forth. It is largely related to the contractual arrangements that are entered into. 
Section 9 of the current Fair Trading Act sets out the basic concepts that underpin the Act and it states: “No person shall in trade engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive.” The Act specifically intends to apply to local authorities in the general provision of goods and services in trade. The bill in clause 11 proposes to amend the Fair Trading Act by substituting a new definition of “goods” and by inserting a new subparagraph into the definition of “services” so that it will include water and the removal of waste water. Under paragraph (a) in subclause (1) goods are defined as “personal property of every kind (whether tangible or intangible);” and I really wonder what the term “intangible” actually means because that is a pretty broad term to be used in legislation. One could start considering things like wahi tapu religious connotations and matters of that sort as the word “intangible” certainly covers that type of subject matter. Clause 11 also inserts subparagraph (vi): “to avoid doubt water and computer software”. 
The questions that are raised with regard to the definition of water and the proposed amendments to the Consumer Guarantees Act are applicable here and we refer members back to those comments. Section 2(1) of the Fair Trading Act will be amended by the addition of new subparagraph (iv) to paragraph (a) in the definition of services. Although the supply of water and waste-water services may be contained in the general definition of “service” it is curious that water and waste-water services have been specifically included in relation to a contract. That is one of the matters that I have raised consistently as I have spoken here tonight. 
Steve Chadwick 
: Repeatedly. 
SANDRA GOUDIE 
: Absolutely because the matters around contracts are actually quite substantial. As with the Consumer Guarantees Act we note the general unsuitability of many of the enforcement provisions and remedies available under the Fair Trading Act which are set out in Part 5 of the Act. They include the granting of injunctions restraining certain conduct ordering the disclosure of information or the publishing of correcting statements declaring that a contract is void varying a contract the refund or return of property damages repair and supply of specified services. In that regard I refer members back to section 31 of the Consumer Guarantees Act “Guarantee as to price”. I will read out subsection (1) because I think it is very important for local authorities. Subsection (1) states: “Subject to section 41 of this Act where services are supplied to a consumer there is a guarantee that the consumer is not liable to pay to the supplier more than a reasonable price for the service in any case where the price for the service is not—(a) Determined by the contract;” There is no direct contract between a local authority and consumers. Also one has to remember that if they do not deem the price to be reasonable they can refuse to pay or pay what they consider to be reasonable. When we start having the majority of local authorities charging something like $1.10 to $1.53 as in the case of Waitakere—and I would suggest that $1.53 is a hugely exorbitant price to be paying for a cubic metre of water—and when Watercare Services is charging something like 55c for a cubic metre of water what is a consumer going to say to a local authority about what is reasonable? Consumers who are getting water supplied by a local authority will be saying: “Hang on a minute.”