Mr. Kevin Johnson:

I have three brief points. Deputy Humphreys mentioned electronic funds transfer, EFT. There are currently 68 credit unions providing either EFT or automated teller machine facilities. Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned governance. We are interpreting and accepting the legislation as trying to attain a balance between the evident passion that exists for delivering value to members and their communities with ensuring the competence exists to steward the business. In other words, the business is the only source of income and capital. It is the only way to fund the delivery of benefits to individual members, families and communities. That is why it is so important to attain that balance. Although the processes are there, some of them have never been set out, so we welcome the great clarity this legislation will bring. As we indicated earlier, people will operate much better in an environment of certainty.

With regard to personal insolvency, the key message we try to emphasise is that the credit union model is very simple. Members put money into a union and other members borrow it. There is no third party of access to capital anywhere else. When a person gets a loan, the commitment is to the fellow members and the duty of the credit union is to get it back for those members.