Thursday 28th of September 2006

Murray Cleland, the new national president of the Institute announced when he took over at the Institute’s Annual General Meeting in Auckland last week that he intends “to lift the bar” to ensure professionalism in the country’s real estate industry. He is advocating stiffer penalties for members who let the industry down.

Cleland said today that “the nine applications for cancellations had resulted in three successful applications for cancellation, and three related applications were withdrawn following the surrendering of salespersons’ certificates and licences by the applicants, and two applications were withdrawn as a result”. One case is still pending.

Cleland said the Institute had received information regarding one particular case and had spent many months researching the matters and building up a very strong case.

“But what has to be remembered here is that in making applications for cancellation or suspension we have to provide a criminal standard of proof, because this is the ultimate punishment available to us – the removal of someone’s livelihood”.

Cleland said the Institute would continue to seek a substantial increase in fines from the current maximum of $750 and looked forward to meeting with government next month to progress the matter.

“Our reputation continues to be tarnished … and in order for us to reverse this perception, we need a much more stringent standard for behaviour, and a penalty regime to match,” Cleland told Institute members at last week’s meeting.