I move amendment No. 72:
In page 39, subsection (2), line 41, after "Part" to insert "or which are designated in regulations made by the Minister as being services to which the provisions of sections 48, 49, 50, 51 and 52 do not apply".
This section deals with making provision for new, additional services which credit unions may develop in the future, an area which we should try to encourage and promote. My concern about different sections of the Bill, relates to the amount of power given to the Registrar and the number of times a credit union is required to make representations to the Registrar in respect of a given activity. We are envisaging new activities and the whole matter is too open-ended.
Essentially, credit unions have demonstrated over 40 years that they are capable of making good judgments on behalf of their members at every level. While giving this amount of new power to the Registrar of Friendly Societies may be valid in certain specified cases, it is not necessary in all cases. I fear it will add an unnecessary level of bureaucracy and expense.
I ask the Minister to have confidence in the credit union movement in respect of new directions it wants to take and, rather than include the sections I want deleted, make ministerial regulations specifying clearly services in respect of which the approval of the Registrar can be dispensed with. The Bill is far too open ended. I want the Minister of State to specify clearly a range of activities for which it would not be deemed necessary to apply to the Registrar.