Conduct bill into new phase

Act MP Karen Chhour told parliament studies by the Reserve Bank and the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) found very few problems that needed to be fixed. And she said the Insurance Brokers Association argued the bill would reduce the numbers of people giving advice and reduce the amount of information available to be disseminated. “Institutions already have policy in place and (the COFI bill) will simply impose more regulation and bureaucracy,” Chhour said. Sums it all up. This current lot in charge of the country are driven by their ideology not logic. This Bill will not benefit the consumer. We are just adding another layer of complexity again to something that doesn't need fixing. No surprises also to see the Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) wasn't ready yet. Of course MBIE have to have their consultation process first! So just who are these "selected interest groups"? Presumably Financial Advice NZ etc. should be among them but if I am reading this article correctly they haven't heard anything from MBIE since their last talks? Are MBIE even consulting with anybody at all because they have a proven track record of disregarding industry. Just like with the current CCCFA consultation process which is "apparently" underway nobody knows what is actually happening.

Yet further evidence that this government has absolutely no idea about the industry. "Leary added intermediaries should definitely be covered by the law, along with financial institutions, and in fact should be investigated by financial institutions that use them as though they were employees." Lets see what the IRD says about that! What about finance companies, pay-day lenders and BNPL providers (aka retail salespeople)? They are the worst culprits and are not captured under any legislation. The local salesman who works at Noel Leeming doesn't have to pay any fees, levies, affiliation costs, aggregator fees or PI insurance, but can inflict more damage on a consumer within 10 minutes than any adviser could do. Like every bit of legislation this government has introduced, they have made solutions for problems that didn't exist, with unintended consequences creating more opportunities for solutions to problems that shouldn't have existed... Labour seems hell-bent on reducing the quality financial advice given to the public. Does it have a secret agenda to keep the public in the dark when it comes to financial matters so that it can continue its own policies of spending without consequence?

"it is understood the SOP has been written and is out for consultation with selected interest groups." Is that genuine consultation, which might lead to changes in the final version presented to Parliament, or is it just to bind key groups into supporting the officials position - in terms of, if you criticise our work, you will no longer get advance notice of what we are going to do. At the end of my 7th decade, I am getting increasingly cynical of "the game". The incumbents can use it (successfully I might add) to shut down debate.

Truly delusional. Labour, Greens and Maori Party constituents will only suffer in ignorance.

isn't that the SOP ("Standing Order Procedure") of the regulators to have everything finalised first, then go through the motion?

Agree Murray. We knew change for advisers was coming and FSLAA is that change like it or not. At the same time it makes little sense to layer up the legislation as they are with COFI. The headline Financial Advice NZ hopes for COFI changes illustrates how myopic the government is being here. I wonder if these MP’s have considered the reality of the real world for constituents where they can’t afford to access advice, they don’t have the appropriate plans in place and the government is left with people on the breadline. The engagement with the advice industry for FSLAA was pretty reasonable and there was a message that we needed advisers, because the government could not look after people without us. Now we have the same Government stating that we all need to be beaten into shape. So which is it? The government’s schizophrenia is showing through…

Said Leary of Dunedin "Leary added intermediaries should definitely be covered by the law, along with financial institutions, and in fact should be investigated by financial institutions that use them as though they were employees. “Firms have an onus to do criminal record checks on their intermediaries...they should have robust processes in place for dealing with misconduct.” Uhuh. So it's up to firms to do criminal checks. And there is nothing in place for dealing with misconduct. And to police us advisers. There is no Register we have to be on. No process of applying to be registered, and no criminal record checking currently. And MBIE don't do anything. The Govt has no gatekeepers, whom we apply to and pay every year for the mere privilege of continuing to do our jobs. There is no framework of regulations covering adviser conduct, accountability and dispute resolution. Right. So that's what Cofi does? Fixes everything. Got it. These comments from the likes of Leary reflect not just ignorance, but a lifetime subscription to myopic ideology. Also looks a little desperate. A govt on the ropes - struggling to get anything done, a sea of bad headlines, polls going the wrong way, opposition on the rise - desperately twisting everything they can into voter-friendly soundbites.

@ Murray - well said. The question certainly needs to be asked. MBIE have been shown to be disingenuous when it comes to consultation with industry. The attitude from MBIE officials is that they know best for consumers. @ Andy - spot on!