Racing Industry Bill

I move, That the Racing Industry Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Transport and Infrastructure Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 17 April 2020.

The question is, that the motion be agreed to.

💬 Rt Hon Winston Peters: In April—

No, no. The member sat down. [Interruption] Order!

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Well, I guess that’s an indication of how the racing industry is going to perform under that Minister’s leadership. We were promised—[Interruption]

💬 SPEAKER: Order! Order! I would like to listen to the member speaking to the bill. He may have had an early start in this race, but he will now speak to the bill and only the bill.

Yes, Mr Speaker. Well, the bill is a very important bill that this Minister had promised to the industry.

💬 Chris Bishop: What does it do?

Well, the bill gives ultimate power to the Minister. The Minister was unable to even make a speech in this House, and yet now has ultimate power to dictate who will be running the racing industry in all the different boards that are created in this bill, and also the ultimate power to vest ownership of the assets of racing clubs in the various codes.

So this is a bill that has been part of a programme that the Minister had promised to the industry when he was anointed to that role. It’s taken many years to get to the first part of that process, and that was duly only a small part of what the Minister was going to do, because we had the Messara report, which was the origin of the reforms, and the Messara report was to be enacted in full. It has been broken into two bills and this is the second bill. This bill has to be done by the next election, because the Minister has a temporary board in place to govern the racing industry, and this bill is the part of assigning the full representation.

Now, in the bill the Minister has made it very clear that he has the ultimate discretion over who will run the racing industry, going forward. That is a lack of accountability, a lack of ownership, and a lack of respect for those people that are in the industry. For example, the Minister can appoint the board to replace codes if he needs to do so. So the codes that may be out there, the racing codes of thoroughbred, standard bred, and dogs, can be replaced. Their boards can be replaced by the Minister at his whim under this legislation. The Minister can also appoint a commissioner for any disputes between the three codes, giving him ultimate discretion, again, to dictate what may be done.

But the greatest discretion this Minister has is in regard to the assets of clubs and the relationship they have with codes. Racing clubs, under this bill, will have to abide by the rules of their relevant code. Now, that may not seem that difficult, but what it is in fact going to do is create a pressure point where codes can pressure clubs into doing what is required by that code. The code will have the ultimate power of being able to say to clubs, “This is what is required from a prospective club.” That pressure point then could lead to clubs having to reconcile themselves and do the things that the code requires rather than what the club itself may require. That lack of democracy and that lack of independence will be a key part of the select committee hearings around this bill.

The National Party does not accept that lack of independence and clarity as worded in this bill. It is very difficult to see how clubs can have any autonomy under this legislation. They are, essentially, at the whim of the code, and if the code is not effective in putting pressure on, they can then be at the whim of the Minister. This bill gives the Minister the ability to override the club’s decision and to vest their assets and their landownership in the code. It is, effectively, a mechanism where the Minister can nationalise racing portfolios and racing clubs, and can take away their ability to have independent racing operations.

Now, this may all be in the aim of achieving the ultimate goal that the Messara report said of having some amalgamation of clubs, and people understand why that may be necessary in the industry, but there are number of ways that that can be achieved. One way could be through clubs coming together and making those decisions themselves, as you would expect would be the appropriate way; not the way that this bill enables, which is the Minister having the ultimate power to dictate that change. In the select committee process, that will be an overriding factor that the National Party will look for for change. There are ways that that could be changed to save the integrity of those clubs and also achieve the purpose of the goal of the Messara report, and also the ultimate goal that the Minister probably has in this case.

Another issue that has been in the racing industry for a number of years has been the top-heavy nature of administration. This bill does the opposite of this, and it creates another level of board in the industry. Not only are we going to have the Racing Integrity Board that will, effectively, be there to govern the racing industry but now we have a new TAB board that will also be set by the Minister. Those seven places on each board will be set by the Minister without necessarily having to have profiled to the relevant codes. The Minister has to take into account the codes and the Sport New Zealand recommendation in regard to the TAB board and has to take into account other factors in regard to the Racing Integrity Board, but there is no requirement on the Minister around the composition of those boards to represent each code effectively. That is another example of where this bill gives all power to the Minister and none to the codes or to the clubs.

The TAB board and the creation of the TAB and the model that has been looked at in this bill reflects a revised vision of the TAB going back to a sense of what happened in the TAB many years ago. It creates a board that has the role of promoting racing and the distribution of profits and deals with betting and venues, but we don’t really have any indication from the Minister at this stage as to the real nature of the TAB’s powers.

Does the TAB have the power to outsource to other betting agencies? That is the real issue that has been circling around the TAB for many years now with proposals that, for example, foreign TABs or betting agencies could be involved with the New Zealand TAB. It appears from this bill, at first instance, that it gives a lot of discretion to the TAB board, and we would like the Minister to clarify in his second reading speech, no doubt, that the TAB will not be outsourcing its operations to an overseas provider under this legislation. We need that clarity around this legislation so that people in the industry know what is happening with regard to those issues.

The bill also has a part that’s in regard to offshore betting that relates to the consumption and information charges that were in the original race fields legislation that the previous Government had put forward. Those clauses in that part of the bill are very repetitive of what has gone through this House in the past, and we want the Minister to explain the devil in the detail, if there is any, in regard to those and why they have been incorporated into this bill at this time.

So this bill really is an attempt by the Minister to have ultimate discretion and power over the industry. The Minister will appoint board members, the Minister has the ability to say that a racing club is no more, and the Minister has the power to vest the assets of that club in the relevant code. That is a loss of independence, integrity—

💬 SPEAKER: Order! The member’s time has expired.

In April of last year, Mr John Messara, who is an Australian thoroughbred racing expert, was commissioned to conduct an independent, high-level assessment of the state of our racing industry. Mr Messara’s report confirmed that racing in New Zealand is in decline, and, as a consequence, the economic and the social benefits New Zealand receives from the industry are at risk.

The Government’s first legislative response to Mr Messara’s report, the Racing Reform Act, came into force in July of this year and it created the Racing Industry Transition Agency, or RITA, to lead a programme of change for the industry. It’s always been the intention to have this second bill for the next tier of reform.

This bill creates the new Racing Industry Act, amalgamating the existing provisions of the Racing Act 2003 with policy decisions agreed by Cabinet in November of this year. It will have a refreshed purpose that focuses on minimising the harm from gambling and provides a high-level overview of that industry. It recognises the need to take a more commercial orientation.

The Government’s view has been that the status quo could not prevail in the racing industry. Simply to do nothing would lead to continuing towards an inevitable decline. Following the advice of RITA and departmental officials, Cabinet has taken a range of steps to prepare the industry for the future, which is reflected in the bill that is before the House.

In terms of governance, the bill provides the post-transitional governance structure of the racing industry, with the creation of TAB New Zealand as the sole betting provider for racing and sports. The bill also empowers the three racing codes to, effectively, govern clubs, venues, and participants as it prescribes the high-level racing functions to the codes. The bill also establishes the Racing Integrity Board, which is responsible for all integrity functions and oversees a compliance arm and an adjudicative arm that operate independently of each other.

In terms of property, it is worth emphasising here that the preferred approach for property decisions is negotiation and for the community interests to be recognised. The bill introduces a suite of changes to resolve historical property issues that have contributed to the decline of the industry. Two property objectives are introduced to guide decision making by the industry: first, the value of racing property should be retained in the industry and used for maximum industry benefit, and, two, statutory provisions are introduced to support negotiations between clubs and codes on using surplus venues. The bill also introduces as a backstop a statutory decision-making process for the Minister for Racing to recommend an Order in Council to allocate property to the code. Provision is also made for payments to the club and community where it is warranted.

In terms of wagering, the bill introduces an approval mechanism to consider the introduction of new betting products. This change will support opportunities to increase revenue and support the financial sustainability of the racing industry. This proposed approach balances the need for new revenue from wagering products with the need to minimise and prevent harm from gambling.

In terms of other matters within the bill, it is deemed wise to direct the select committee to consider amendments allowing the industry to reach better voluntary commercial arrangements on the offshore charges regime. These amendments will be sent to the committee when the House resumes in the new year.

This bill contains a series of balanced and considered measures which get the industry back on track. It is opportune to thank both the RITA and Department of Internal Affairs officials for their work to get this bill to the first reading and for the support of Government and other partners. Accordingly, we commend the bill to the House.

First of all, I just would like to acknowledge, like other members in the House, the tragic circumstances for those tourists and New Zealanders who have lost their lives at White Island or have been injured in that tragic event.

Now, addressing this bill—this is a very interesting bill. The National Party is going to support it through to first reading, but we have some grave concerns about this bill, and I wish to address those this afternoon. But, first of all, I want to say that we realise the importance of the racing industry to the New Zealand economy and to provinces and regions and cities throughout New Zealand. We know the size and scale of the industry. As a former Minister for Racing, I know that about 50,000 people are associated with the racing industry and some 17,000 jobs, and the income that the racing and sports betting and the overall industry contributes to the New Zealand economy is around $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion.

I read the Messara report with a great deal of interest. What Mr Messara said—some of his points I thought were right on the nose. They were accurate and well considered, but he’s gone further by saying that the TAB should be floated down the track to allow other investors to come in. I think that is a real concern.

In this bill in particular, one of the points that grates with the National Party is the blatant property rights, whereby the Minister will have a power to be able to say to clubs that have historical property issues that “You need to sell down your asset and put it into a consolidated fund.” Now, that point there is a real issue for a lot of clubs throughout New Zealand. The racing industry has been formed on the backs of volunteers that have worked hard in these provincial and rural racing clubs to support their communities. The fear that we have on this side of the House is that the Minister has snuck a clause into this bill that says if these historical property issues don’t get resolved, then the Minister will have the power to say, “That club is on the market, sold, and I’m grabbing those proceeds and putting them into a centralised fund.” We don’t think that is fair, and we also encourage those in the racing industry to come forward to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee when this is opened up for public submissions so that they can have their voices heard.

The other aspect of this, as I talked about in my introductory remarks, is, indeed, about a specific board that’s going to oversee the way that the TAB operates. I think what the select committee should do is drill into the detail of who owns the TAB. That question has been asked for decades, and the answer will be, I think, that the Crown does. The industry might say “Well, we do.”, and the sports industry might say, “Well, we have a stake in that pie as well.” I think all of those factors are worth due consideration, but, fundamentally, the TAB, in my opinion, is owned by the Crown.

What this TAB board is going to do is start getting ready for the TAB to be ultimately floated, or for an overseas investor to come in and purchase or do some deal on the TAB. I’m wondering how that is going to sit with New Zealand First, because in the past they’ve always been opposed to foreign investment, but I know they’re quite supportive of it in the forestry industry right now. Let’s wait and see through the select committee process what the industry thinks of the TAB board that is going to be specifically focused on getting the TAB ready for some of it to be floated offshore. That will be an interesting consideration as well.

The last comment is one that I actually personally support: to allow new betting products to be allowed in this country. It’s always been very difficult to get new betting products through this Parliament, because there’ll be some on this side of the House who are diametrically opposed to gambling, and I take that on board. There are others who perhaps have TAB accounts, who might bet on a daily basis. So, in this Parliament, we are a broad church, and I think that’s going to be an issue that is worthy of further consideration. If you look at the UK, they can go and bet on the name of the next royal family member, who may not yet be conceived. So I think there is an opportunity for that to be further explored in the select committee.

So, in summary, this bill is important for the racing industry, but there is enough of a concern from the National Party that we are going to roll our sleeves up in this select committee and get stuck in, and I’m pleased to see that the Minister has not gone for a truncated select committee period—report back is on 17 April next year. That gives enough opportunity. I don’t think it necessarily is going to be enough for a lot of people who may mobilise against this bill, but I guess they’ve got the period leading up to Christmas and in January, no doubt, when the select committee will ask for public submissions.

I encourage all of those people that are out there in rural provincial New Zealand who’ve worked hard on their racing club with blood, sweat, and tears to support their racing industry—where mum and dad and the kids turn up to one or two events every year, and they feel a sense of pride and ownership in their local club—to push back on the Minister to say, “We believe that we need to have a due process into any of these historical property issues, rather than the heavy hand of the Beehive coming down through an Order in Council and just saying that ‘We’re going to put your track on the block, take those proceeds, and put them into a centralised fund.’ ” Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I too, like other members, would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge those that are suffering and grieving as a result of the explosion at Whakaari / White Island. Today is not the day for grandstanding or cheap political points, and indeed I will not be taking the opportunity to correct some of the scaremongering that we’re hearing on the other side of the House.

The Labour Party’s proud to support this bill. It is a bill that is needed, and it is a bill that will support an industry that many of us love. I love nothing more than sitting there on a Saturday afternoon listening to Tony Lee cheering on the field down the long straight at Trentham, inevitably to see the final leg of my multi fall over.

It is a fantastic industry that supports many regions and provinces where many of us here in this House live, and I think that this bill, under the leadership of the Minister for Racing, the Rt Hon Winston Peters, will be seen and looked back on in history as the thing that rejuvenated this industry. I commend it to the House.

That was a very good speech, starting off by saying that the member was not going to be political and then accusing the Opposition of scaremongering. Actually, Mr McAnulty, this is not scaremongering; this is genuine concern for our racetrack owners around the country.

As we know, racing is an important part of the economy—particularly in our rural areas—involving $1.6 billion in revenue and around 18,000 jobs. I’ve got some significant racing interests in my electorate of Taranaki - King Country—in fact, all the way through it. Yes, racing has been in decline, and that’s more in terms of the stakes rather than in terms of the breeding. We actually breed some very good horses in this country, but when it comes to the racing stakes, it’s been very hard for the industry and trainers to actually have a really good go at it, because the stakes aren’t very high. That’s basically because, as we know, there are a large number of racetracks and racing venues in this country.

We recognise the need for change in the industry. We are supporting the intent of this bill, and we are supporting it to first reading, as we look to help the racing industry transform into the competitive market that it does have the potential to be. But where we disagree, and where we want to have a good discussion at select committee, is that this bill gives too much power to the Minister when it comes to decisions around these racing venues and racing tracks around the country. In particular, we can’t support Subpart 2 of Part 1 in its current form, because this Subpart 2 refers to the transfer of assets and surplus venues. Really, this will be like a red rag to a bull to many in rural provincial New Zealand.

Now, when Minister Faafoi spoke before, he said that during this process the preferred approach would be negotiation, but then, following that, he said these clauses are a backstop for the Minister which allows that Minister to allocate property to the code. So then is this really a genuine negotiation? It’s a negotiation, but if you don’t do what the Minister wants you to do, the Minister has the power to step in and actually make that approach on behalf of the particular racecourse or the race venue.

Like our previous National speaker, Nathan Guy, I would encourage a significant number of people to put submissions in on this bill. I believe we will get a significant number, because this could end up with some of the racing club land being confiscated and given back to particular codes when that’s not the wish of the people in particular communities that have put their time and effort in. There’s a real pride in communities in some of these venues, and they’re not just racing venues either, I must say. In some communities, a lot of those venues are used for other types of events.

So, clause 25, that allows the Order in Council recommended by the Minister to grab these properties if an agreement can’t be reached by local clubs, is a step too far for the National caucus, because we believe in private property rights and we know that these people have put a lot of effort into this over a period of time.

I just wanted to make reference to the TAB, because there’s a lot of discussion around the TAB and its ownership and how it will work out through this bill. We hear a lot about betting and gambling, and I just want to say at this point in time that, actually, the betting and gambling thing is a red herring when it comes to specifically stating this around the racing industry. Once upon a time, the racing industry was the place where people went to take their bets, but I think it’s already been stated today that you can pretty much bet on anything now. You can bet on many codes of sports, you can bet on things that aren’t codes of sport, and I don’t want to see anybody throughout this process use betting and gambling as any excuse to push back on the racing industry, because it’s a wonderful industry.

While I don’t go often, I always enjoy a day at the races, and we in the National caucus are supporting this bill to select committee and then looking forward to some sensible changes around Subpart 2. So thank you, Mr Speaker.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. Ki ngā tini mate kua haere ki te pō, haere, haere, haere.

[To the many deceased who have passed to the night, depart, depart, farewell.]

Can I, on behalf of the Green Party, acknowledge the grief and loss of those who have lost family members and friends in the Whakaari / White Island tragedy, and the dedication, commitment, and skill of the first responders and those in our health system and all of those who are supporting those families and the recovery effort.

The Messara report did highlight the crisis in the racing industry, and this bill, the second after the Racing Reform Act that was earlier passed by the Parliament, is aimed to put in place the reform to provide a really solid basis for the industry. I acknowledge, as the previous speaker, Barbara Kuriger, did, just the importance of the industry in terms of the livestock, the bloodstock, and the export of thoroughbred racing horses to the New Zealand economy.

I would like to acknowledge, in starting, the work by the Minister for Racing, the Deputy Prime Minister, and his staff for the very constructive engagement on improving the bill to address the Green Party’s concerns around minimising gambling harm and the potential for gambling harm. That’s why we’re really pleased that with the establishment of a new TAB to be the statutory body which controls all race betting, it has a different objective from the current one, and that it is about ensuring that the risks of problem gambling and under-age gambling are minimised and it balances its objective of raising revenue from betting against this objective of minimising gambling harm. That creates a much better balance.

The whole point of this bill in actually separating out racing and betting functions, setting up the new TAB, and ensuring that in the work of the codes, they focus very much on actually administering the codes—that that’s separate—is a step forward. The TAB will have that sole focus on providing betting on racing and sports while minimising harm.

The other important thing that the bill does is ensure that there’s a new Racing Integrity Board established. Now, that will be funded from revenue from betting but it will have an investigatory and an adjuditory function, and, again, that is a significant step forward.

Now, the previous speaker and Nathan Guy talked quite a lot about this issue of racing venues and racecourses. The whole issue of racetrack consolidation has been debated by the industry for decades, and the Messara report highlighted how some change is needed there in order to consolidate venues in order to have the revenue to invest in improving racecourses. But what this bill does, as I understand it, is ensure that it is the codes that make this decision about whether there is to be any consolidation, that that is to be achieved through negotiation, and that the codes decide how the revenue will then be used, and it provides the flexibility, potentially, for clubs that might decide to sell their racecourse—that they can still run events at other courses.

So, yes, this provision will be controversial and, again, I hope that clubs and other make submissions, but there needs to be consolidation for the industry to flourish. I think the improvements that have been made to the bill, taking into account the recommendations of the Messara report ensuring that the decision making rests with the code and that it’s not Government coming in and making those decisions, are the best interests of the industry.

So the Green Party will be supporting the bill and we recognise that both in terms of the objectives of the TAB with the minimising of harm and the separation of race betting and code management, and with this objective of the whole bill around minimising gambling harm, it has been an improvement to what was originally proposed, and we thank the Deputy Prime Minister for engaging with that. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I’d firstly like to start by acknowledging the terribly tragedy that’s occurred at White Island, as well, and thank the first responders for the work they have done and continue to do, and extend our condolences to the families impacted by this.

Now, with this particular piece of legislation, the Racing Industry Bill, in its first reading here today, we are supporting it. You’ve already heard today some of the concerns we have, but, actually, I just want to touch on the fact that the racing industry is an important sector and, speaking particularly as the MP for Waikato, it’s a very proud part of the success of the Waikato. We see every day the benefits that industry brings to our communities, so we absolutely need to be doing more to support them, and I am encouraged by the attempts to do so, although within this bill there are some very significant concerns.

The biggest one of those is around the potential transfer of assets and we simply can’t support the Minister for Racing’s capacity under this legislation to do that. There are countless volunteers who contribute massive amounts of time to the racing sector, volunteering at their local tracks in whatever capacity and making the day a real success for those communities. It may only be a couple of race meets a year that they have, but it’s a big event for the community. To lose that would be a real shame, but more so to have their assets—all that hard work that’s been built up over years of volunteer contributions—be stripped away and reprioritised at the Minister’s discretion. So that is a concern and we certainly hope to be able to address that through the select committee process.

So we are supporting it to that stage, initially, but under its current form it just gives too much power to the Minister, and we’ve actually seen that trend in a number of pieces of legislation put forward by this Government where it’s the attitude that they know best rather than the industry being able lead in whichever particular field it is. This is a fine example in the racing industry where, again, the Minister wants to have all the power without being required to consult the industry or come back before this House.

So we have concerns about that. We’re hoping to address that, so we are supporting it because we do want to see some positive change for the industry and see them better off as a result of it. So we’ll do what we can to ensure that happens. Thank you.

This is a split call. I call Greg O’Connor—five minutes.

I’ll be one of many New Zealanders who will be enjoying the races—in my case, the Westport Boxing Day races—this year. This year, when my colleagues—who I’ve known for many years—start lamenting the state of the track, the state of the crowd, and the state of the stakes, I’ll be able to reassure them that, finally, we have a Government that is trying to address that, and that if we get this right we can restore the stakes, we can restore the crowds, and we can restore the number of horses in that field. Therefore, I have no hesitation in commending this Racing Industry Bill to the House.

As we’ve previously heard, National supports this bill to the select committee stage. We do have some concerns, but before I outline those concerns can I just acknowledge all the people across New Zealand, and especially in rural New Zealand, who take part in the racing industry. Quite often in small towns, it is the social occasion of the year. I have been known to have a wee flutter every now and again, but not successfully, so I haven’t done so in a couple years. I’d better not mention here, considering we live in a PC world, the fancy dress that I wore to some racing events when I was younger.

I just want to use one example, which is the Gore Racing Club. This is a racing club in one of the most beautiful parts of the country, and it’s not used just for racing—

💬 Andrew Falloon: Gorgeous.

Thank you, Mr Falloon. It is gorgeous, but it’s actually used by the Scout club and the bridge club, they have an A and P show there, and they have shearing champs every second year there. Years of dedication and hard work has gone into the racing club by the local community.

One aspect of the bill that we’re not too happy about—and I acknowledge Minister Sage, she did sort of make reference to this—is around Subpart 2 in Part 1. This means the transfer of assets and surpluses if the Minister closed down clubs. What does that mean? Basically, the Minister can come in, sell up the club, sell up the land, and use those assets and put it in a greater pool, which, in Gore’s case, could be used for clubs or the industry in the North Island. We don’t agree with that.

You only need to look at the quote from the Gore Racing Club president, Justine Abernethy. This comment was made about a year ago: “Our worst-case scenario if we go down what the Messara Report wants us to do, is we’re going to have to sell all our assets”—all that goodwill built up over the generations by hard-working farmers in Southland—“and that money should go back to the community.” That was their worst-case scenario. Unfortunately, under this—under Subpart 2—the Minister can come in, use his hands, and use that money elsewhere.

This is not good, and for that reason we will support it to the select committee stage, but we hope the Government works with us on this for the good of New Zealand racing and ensures that Subpart 2 is worked out, because it’s not fair. A local community builds up a racing course, assets, and surpluses for generations, and often donating stock to raise money for the club and often donating a large number of assets, only for the Minister to come in and use that money elsewhere.

E Te Māngai o Te Whare, tēnā koe. Tuatahi, e tautoko ana ahau i te āhuatanga o ngā mihimihi i tēnei rā mō ngā whānau pani, ā, otirā rātou katoa kei raro i te kapua pōuri mō tērā aikaha, aituā, aroha mai, ki Whakaari.

[Greetings to you, Mr Speaker. Firstly, I support the nature of the acknowledgments today of the bereaved families, and indeed of all those who are enveloped by sadness from the tragedy at Whakaari / White Island.]

I am pleased to stand and support the Racing Industry Bill. I want to acknowledge the Rt Hon Winston Peters for bringing this bill forward. There is a need within the industry and, therefore, I commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I echo my colleagues’ sentiments from this afternoon in relation to the awful events in the Bay of Plenty and pass on our condolences to the families of those affected, and also our best wishes to those involved in the recovery and also the medical professionals up and down the country who are still working with those affected.

As we’ve heard this afternoon, the National Party will be supporting this legislation to allow it to go to select committee, to allow for all industry players and, indeed, fans to have their say over this Racing Industry Bill. But we do so with some reservations about the content, and I particularly want to speak in relation to clause 25.

Earlier in the debate, we heard from Mr Kieran McAnulty, who, I suppose, is no stranger to the racing industry. He accused the National Party of scaremongering over this bill—of scaremongering. Well, Mr McAnulty, I’ll just point you to clause 25, which refers to the transfer of surplus venues by Order in Council, where it says that in cases where no agreement on the transfer has been reached, “The Governor-General may, by Order in Council made on the recommendation of the Minister,—(a) approve a proposal prepared by the racing code relating to the transfer of the surplus venue to the code”. So that essentially means that courses can be taken away from local communities, sold off, and the proceeds go to the code in question. We do have concerns about that.

I suppose I speak—as many members here do—as quite a big fan of the racing industry. I’ve got four racecourses in my electorate: Phar Lap Raceway, which is the one I’ll speak about in a moment; Ashburton; Ōrari; and Methven. In fact, I would have been at the Methven races on the weekend but for an unfortunate incident where a couple of bridges over the Rangitata River were out of action for a period of time. But Phar Lap, in particular, is one that’s been slated for closure or for loss of races by the Messara Report. Subsequent to that, I started a petition which was signed by 5,600 people in the South Canterbury community. That, to me, really sums up the feeling that there is in local communities for the racing industry.

This isn’t just about the racecourses or the racing meets—although, of course, many thousands do turn up to Phar Lap every December, later on this month, for the races; that’ll be a great event, as it always is—but they’re also hubs for the community, and Phar Lap in particular hosts a lot of community events. There are a lot of businesses that rely on the customers that come through those doors, not just for racing events but also other events. Unfortunately, that would go if this bill was to pass in its current form, where a Minister, through the stroke of a pen, could, essentially, say, “Right, not only are we going to take the races away from Phar Lap Raceway, but we’re also going to take the course away from the community.” So I have real reservations about this bill and real concerns about what the effect will be on places like Timaru and what the effect will be in regional New Zealand.

We will be supporting this bill, but I’m very, very keen to hear what the industry has to say about the bill, not just the interests in the places like Waikato and Bay of Plenty but also in places like the South Island, which is slated to lose 11 courses of the 20 that are slated for closure. I’m keen to hear what they have to say, from industry and fans alike. Thank you very much.

Tēnā koe, Mr Speaker. I want to echo those members who spoke before me, and I feel for the victims and their families of the Whakaari tragedy.

The racing industry is important to us. I commend the bill to the House.

Bill read a first time.

Bill referred to the Transport and Infrastructure Committee.

on behalf of the Minister for Racing: I move, That the Racing Industry Bill be reported to the House by 17 April 2020.

Motion agreed to.