Speech By
Verity Barton
MEMBER FOR BROADWATER
Record of Proceedings, 6 May 2014
AGENTS FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION BILL; DEBT COLLECTORS (FIELD
AGENTS AND COLLECTION AGENTS) BILL; MOTOR DEALERS AND CHATTEL
AUCTIONEERS BILL; PROPERTY OCCUPATIONS BILL
Miss BARTON (Broadwater—LNP) (5.11 pm): I rise to contribute to the cognate debate on the
Agents Financial Administration Bill, the Debt Collectors (Field Agents and Collection Agents) Bill, the
Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Bill and the Property Occupations Bill. At the outset I would
like to start, like the member for Ipswich, by acknowledging the work that the members of the
committee have done on these particular bills and thank the secretariat for the work they do in
supporting us. As the member for Ipswich and chair of the Legal Affairs and Community Safety
Committee has outlined, and as you yourself, Mr Deputy Speaker Watts, are well aware, the Legal
Affairs and Community Safety Committee is rather a busy one. There is always something on our
agenda and it is usually more than one thing at a time. The secretariat do a fantastic job of making
sure that we stay on track.
I would particularly like to thank those who not only took the time to make written submissions
to the committee on these particular bills, but also took time out of their schedules to appear at the
public hearing. I appreciate that many of them took time out of their own professional lives to make
that appearance. I would also like to acknowledge those officials from the Department of Justice and
Attorney-General who took the time out of their schedules to provide the committee with a briefing on
the bills.
These particular bills were introduced to the House on 20 November and the Legal Affairs and
Community Safety Committee tabled its report to parliament on 24 February. In the interim, of course,
there was much work to be done by the committee. A public briefing was received by the Department
of Justice and Attorney-General on 12 December and on 6 February this year the Legal Affairs and
Community Safety Committee held a public hearing on all four bills.
Ultimately PAMDA, or the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act, in its current form is
unworkable and cumbersome. The main objective of these particular bills is to provide for the repeal
of PAMDA so that it can be split up into a suite of four acts. The idea of that is that the legislation will
be a lot more responsive to industries. It will also mean that government is able to respond to the
wants and needs of those particular industries.
The Agents Financial Administration Bill will ultimately streamline the claim fund processes and
will also deliver red-tape reduction for government, industry and consumers. Of course red-tape
reduction is a key commitment of this government. The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice
outlined in his second reading speech that the government has a commitment to reduce red tape by
20 per cent. The initiatives that we have seen in this particular suite of legislation are going to be key
to honouring our commitments.
In addition, the Agents Financial Administration Bill in particular contains provisions regarding
trust accounts and claim funds as previously contained in PAMDA legislation. Ultimately this will avoid
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duplication of these provisions across industry specific legislation where it is not required. For
members of the House who may not have had the opportunity to take as detailed a look as members
of the committee have, the claim fund compensates people who, in particular circumstances, have
suffered a financial loss because of their dealings with specific agents. This bill will maintain the
current processes regarding the receipt of a claim and how it is actioned, as well as how the money is
paid out to a successful applicant. Again, in line with the government’s red-tape reduction
commitments, the way that these claims processes will now be managed is significantly streamlined
and that will mean positive benefits for consumers and claimants.
The Debt Collectors (Field Agents and Collection Agents) Bill again cuts red tape and simplifies
the regulation of the debt collection industry. These provisions again are largely consistent with the
existing provisions, but some measures have been taken to cut red tape. Again, this is really
important as we look to support industry in Queensland and we look to support employers and small
business in Queensland. One of the things we hear time and time is again is that red tape and
regulatory burden is a particular issue for them.
I note that the assistant minister for deregulation—rather the assistant minister for regulatory
reform, to use her correct title—will be making a contribution to the cognate debate. I am sure she will
be able to highlight and outline just what positive effects this will have on particular industries in
Queensland, as well as highlight the positive measures and steps that have been taken by the
Newman government over the past two years in particular to honour its commitment to the people of
Queensland to cut red tape. In line with this, there have been a number of changes to reduce the
licensing requirements where they have been particularly burdensome. Also—and this was outlined
by the opposition leader I believe—there have been additional accountability measures regarding the
opening of a trust account.
In terms of the Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Bill, the separation of this particular bill
from PAMDA will ultimately improve the operation of legislation for this sector. One of the things that
we have seen time and time again is that when red tape is encompassed in a particularly
cumbersome and burdensome piece of legislation it makes it very, very difficult for industry to be able
to advocate on their behalf as to what changes need to be made. Part of the separation will mean that
it is so much easier for government to be more responsive to particular industries and the issues that
they might have. As I have said, ultimately it is about freeing them up from legislation that is becoming
increasingly unworkable.
The Property Occupations Bill is ultimately about providing a modern framework for regulation
of the real estate industry in Queensland. I would like to note that the Real Estate Institute of
Queensland was incredibly supportive of the changes that we were making with regard to PAMDA
and providing the real estate industry with its own particular framework. Again, this is all about
reducing red tape for business and reducing red tape for industry.
Some of the specific changes that we see in this particular piece of legislation that are different
from the existing provisions under PAMDA have come out of the extensive consultation that I
mentioned with the REIQ. But with this bill it is not just about looking at how we can support industry,
but also about looking at how we can support the consumer. Of course that is particularly important
when you are talking about real estate transactions.
We have made sure that the requirements associated with the buyer’s termination notice during
the statutory cooling-off period are simplified. I think that is going to be incredibly important. Often for
people without a legal qualification or legal background contracts can be incredibly technical
documents to read and they do not necessarily always understand what they can mean. Oftentimes
legalese can sometimes mean that people have a completely different interpretation and
understanding of what the actual words mean.
We have also streamlined the general contracts for the sale of homes which will of course be
beneficial to the consumer and it will make it easier for consumers to understand what is actually
happening with their own money. When we are talking about significant amounts of money, I think it is
important that we do all that we can to make the process easier for those who are looking to purchase
a home.
One of the other things that has been mentioned in this debate and did come up at the public
hearing was that price guides for auctions in Queensland will now be banned. My understanding on
the basis of advice from the REIQ is that this is merely enshrining what is current practice for the
majority of real estate agents in Queensland. I appreciate that there are some real estate agents who
favour auctions and who are concerned about this. However, ultimately—and the committee came to
the same conclusion—there is some concern that if you look at providing a price guide ahead of an
auction you are tinkering with the market and you do not allow the free market to set the price based
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on any number of conditions at the time of auction. I would have very grave concerns about allowing a
practice that effectively distorts the market as I am sure would all members of the government.
In his second reading speech, the Attorney-General flagged amendments with regard to this to
ensure that, even though we are banning price guides, this does not have any impact on electronic
portals for people who purchase property. Oftentimes these days you will see that people are looking
for property online rather than going down to real estate agents’ offices. I know when I was buying my
own home a few years ago I did not go down to a real estate agent and look at pictures of properties
in a glass window; I spent time trawling through websites looking at information on websites. So we
are cognisant and conscious that technology is changing and, of course, the way that people look at
doing their research is changing. So the Attorney has of course flagged amendments with regard to
this to make sure that there are no difficulties there.
Ultimately, this is about making sure that the legislation that we have is not cumbersome when
it comes to being industry specific legislation. We need to be able to have legislation in this House
that not only supports industry but also supports consumers and enables government to make the
necessary changes that it needs to when industries or consumers do have issues. Again, the red-tape
reduction that we have seen in this particular bill is a key component of the government’s commitment
to cut red tape by 20 per cent in coming years and, of course, is the government honouring its
commitment to the people of Queensland as we have done many, many times over the past few
years with other commitments that we have made. I look forward to supporting all of these bills as
they progress through the House.
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