Todd Stephenson

Look, we've got 200, more than 200,000 New Zealanders who work in regulated professionals.

They're people like doctors, lawyers, accountants, builders, actually plumbers and gas fitters.

So it's quite a big number of people in New Zealand.

No, what we're saying here is, look, professional regulating bodies actually have a role, but what we don't want them doing is actually policing people's free speech and private beliefs, and that's not their role.

Their role is around ensuring that people who are professionals, regulated professionals, are competent,

and safe, conducting themselves ethically.

So it's all around consumer protection.

What we don't want them doing is people in that profession being policed around their free speech and other beliefs.

No, you raise a really good point, Mike.

So what we're saying is, look, they've got to make sure that people are acting competently, ethically, and any of their training is actually related to those matters directly to their profession.

Well, you're not a regulated, your company's not a regulator, but that's entirely up to you to have that conversation with your employer.

That's different from regulated professions.

No, no, and we've said no, that is a line that's crossed.

Yeah, but what makes you right?

Well, because we're saying it needs to relate to consumer protection.

Is that person competent to act as a real estate agent?

And are they upholding themselves ethically?

Whether they have a modern interpretation of treaty rights, et cetera, we think that's completely out of balance.

Well, no, we actually do have a draft bill, Mike.

It's actually been done overseas in Canada, so we think there is a way of doing this.