Major Events Management Bill

I rise to speak to the title of the Major Events Management Bill. As has been clearly pointed out in the course of this wide-ranging debate in the Committee stage, the aim of this bill is to prevent unauthorised commercial exploitation at the expense of major sponsors. We are talking about some key events here. We are talking about the Netball World Championships in 2007, the World Rowing Championships in 2010—

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Not the netball.

We are not talking about the netball; I apologise. We are certainly talking about the World Rowing Championships, the Rugby World Cup in 2011, and the Cricket World Cup in 2015. These are key events that we need to focus on. They are particularly poignant for me in that I can look back on the events that my father was involved in as an All Black throughout the halcyon days of the late 1950s and 1960s. We had the likes of Waka Nathan, Colin Meads, and Sir Brian Lochore playing then. It is poignant because, if we look back to those days, we see that what those men had on their jerseys was the silver fern. Advertising and sponsorship were second degree.

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: No TV.

There was very little TV—they were different days. Since then, time has moved on.

It is also poignant for me because Tom Johnson, my own electorate chair back in Napier in Hawke’s Bay, was on the council that went to Canada and that took up the original proposal for the initial Rugby World Cup.

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Before the member was born.

No, it was not before the member was born, though it was close to it—it was back in about 1985, if I recall correctly.

It is poignant, because if we look back on those old days, there was limited sponsorship. Now, however, the sponsorship is totally different. Companies have realised the potential of these events. Let us look at the Nike example that occurred at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Nike had probably one of the most amazing ambush marketing campaigns that has ever been seen at an Olympic Games. It cost $50 million for sponsors just to be on the starting list at that particular games, but Nike did not step up to the game there. It refused to be a sponsor. However, behind the scenes it plastered the city with billboards, it handed out Swoosh flags all around the stadium, and it erected an enormous Nike centre within the city. It was a huge ambush marketing campaign. At the end of the games, some surveys were done and people in the city actually thought that Nike was the No. 1 sponsor.

The reality is that to hold major events in this country, or in any nation for that matter, we need sponsors. It is a reality of life. If we cannot provide a return on the investment made by those sponsors, then they will not be there. I think that the Greens need to understand this. New Zealand is poised in the fantastic position of being able to host many, many events of a world standard, and if we cannot provide clean stadiums, then we will not get those events. These events have the ability to bring significant revenue into this country, and unless we can provide clean stadiums, we will not be able to provide those events.

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Stadia.

Stadia.

I would like to finish my contribution tonight by going back to the types of things that this bill will provide. It will retain memories in this nation of Rugby World Cups and of our key sporting heroes. They are memories of events that I can talk about after listening to my own father, such as one that happened at Athletic Park in 1961. Many members will recall that test, when the All Blacks sneaked home at 5-3 in a nail-biter. Members will recall an 80-mile-per-hour gale that whipped off the Southern Ocean and straight down Athletic Park.

💬 Hon Trevor Mallard: Was the member born?

It does not matter; we still need to recall the memory. With 15 minutes to play the game was tied at nil all. A try finally came—not to New Zealand but to France. A pass from Connor had missed Wolfe 30 yards from the French line and, before Wolfe could recover the loose ball, Piqué had grabbed it and was making upfield. Bearing left, he drew McKay infield before tossing a pass to the now unmarked Dupuy, who bolted the last 40 yards to the line, scoring 8 yards in from the left corner. Albaladejo failed at the almost impossible task of converting into the teeth of the gale. From the restart McKay narrowly missed scoring, but from a scrum on the French line, Lacroix passed to Lacaze to clear. The fullback’s kick was charged down by Tremain, who fell on the ball 10 yards in from the corner. Don Clarke took the conversion attempt back to the 25 and kicked almost parallel to the goal line in time for the wind to catch the ball and miraculously carry it over the bar to give New Zealand the lead and to cruelly dash the French hopes.

It is events like these—memories like these—that this bill will help. We must ensure that we in this country continue to hold events like this. They are why I, for one, certainly support this bill. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Clause 1 agreed to.

Clause 2 agreed to.

Bill reported without amendment.

Report adopted.