Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill

I move, That the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill be now read a third time.

It’s a great pleasure for me to open this third reading on a bill in my name which, if passed, will have a significant impact on a very few small but very popular thoroughbred racing and harness racing clubs, spread throughout rural New Zealand. That’s, of course, one of the keys to this bill: it does have an impact on those small clubs that represent the people of rural New Zealand and, of course, if you look at the history of thoroughbred racing in New Zealand, particularly—and well, in fact, both forms of racing in New Zealand, they were largely popular and originated, to some extent, in rural New Zealand. If only our metropolitan clubs could work out, they are still, today, the source of many owners, trainers, and people interested in what’s colloquially known as “the sport of kings”—and it is the sport of kings now, not the sport of queens.

This bill was first presented in 2018 as a result of the then Minister for Racing the Rt Hon Winston Peters’ suggesting that attendance of race meetings was being impeded by police objecting to the ability of patrons to bring their own alcohol to race meetings, where appropriate, as they preferred all clubs to run on licences. Chris Bishop picked the bill up, and as a result of this discussion, produced a bill the next morning, basically, and put it in the ballot in my name. So I need to thank Chris Bishop for the original work on this bill and, of course, I could thank the previous Minister for Racing for having the idea, but he’s no longer the Minister for Racing.

This morning we had a very interesting discussion with the current Minister for Racing about the strengths of the racing industry and also about some changes that are happening with respect to the TAB, which are very relevant to the health of racing in New Zealand, and I’ll talk about that a little later. But it was a really interesting discussion and I think the racing industry is fortunate, in a way, to have had—and I’m not great at giving credit across the House—the last two Ministers for Racing, or the last three, actually, who have all been cooperative in progressing what was a struggling, and still is a struggling, industry.

This bill makes it clear that racing clubs and race meetings are not the intended targets of section 235 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012. The bill effectively allows families and other race goers to attend race meetings, taking their family picnics, including a bottle of wine or beer, and enjoy a day out without having to stand in a queue or a bar with family and friends. Some of you will be old enough to remember some of those barns in the bottom of grandstands at race meetings—Mr Speaker, I’m not including you in that description, of course—but the West Coast, of course, had a large number of those facilities and they were usually cold, damp and very damp by the end of the day.

This bill actually overcomes some of those challenges, because the intention of it is to create a social environment that people can enjoy. Of course, as I said earlier, this industry has struggled in recent years, and I think the changes that have been made in the last four or so years will make a significant difference to it. This bill will make a little bit more difference if it’s passed.

As with so many matters that concern our everyday lives, we only need to look across the Tasman to a country that, as recently as last month, showed a Budget Day surplus; interest rates running about 2.5 percent less than ours—probably less than that now—an economy in sound shape due to the sound use of their natural resources and doing what they’re best at. Their racing industry is no exception. Stakes are booming, attendance is going well, magnificent horses are doing well—so well that, in fact, 60 percent of our horses annually are bred and sold to Australia—and, of course, the New Zealand thoroughbred in Australia has a huge reputation, and I’ll just briefly touch on that in a second, too. They also attract much international interest and money to their country by great promotion of their racing industry. Racing to Australia is a little like the All Blacks or Black Ferns to New Zealand—a wonderful advertisement for the country.

This industry has the potential—with the changes that have been made in the last four years, and with some encouragement to our breeding industry—to be a great tourist attraction for New Zealand as well. I think that it’s important that we keep it going. We breed better horses in New Zealand than almost—I’ll take the risk of saying it in here—anywhere else in the world—

Hon Louise Upston: We do.

IAN McKELVIE: —and we’ve proved that. Of course, the member to my right, Louise Upston, comes right from the heart of the great horse breeding area of New Zealand.

So back to the bill. The activities this bill promotes can be achieved now in a form by larger clubs who have the facilities and resources to manage the licence applications, to manage the distribution and sale of alcohol under their licensing. The most notable one of those, for mine, is the CJC, the Canterbury Jockey Club, at the New Zealand Cup meeting, where they have literally thousands of people around their boots under the beautiful trees of Riccarton—and in what I would call an interesting but civilised environment, I think, quite exciting actually.

The small clubs that we’re promoting and enabling here do not have the resources to make it work in this manner, nor do they often have the facilities to run bar facilities that cater for the crowds they get, because generally these are small clubs—they’re defined as small clubs in the racing Act, and that means they run two or less meetings a year—and they’re generally run in holiday environments and enable quite large crowds to turn up.

Last night, we heard the first reading speeches on a bill designed to enable pubs, clubs, and other licensed facilities to open for World Cup rugby events being held at odd times of the day or night because of the time difference between us and the Northern Hemisphere. In an interesting sort of way, this bill achieves much the same thing for the small racing clubs of New Zealand. It enables them to do something a little easier and, I guess, it enables them to attract people to their racecourse they may well otherwise not, just as the bill we put through the first reading last night, when passed, will enable those hospitality facilities to do the same thing.

My life in racing started a long, long, long time ago, and, as a teenager, I tried to train a horse. I’ve ridden a few, but you can tell I’ve never been a jockey—I wasn’t built that way, unfortunately, or fortunately, whichever way you look at it.

Hon Member: Built for comfort, not for speed.

IAN McKELVIE: Yeah, the long and short of it. And I have had a lifelong interest in racing and have also been the president of a racing club—a two-meeting club, interestingly—and, as I said, have lifelong interests in the racing industry, the breeding industry, and all those things that go with it. I think, as I said earlier, it’s a very important industry for New Zealand, it’s important that we continue to promote it, and I think that it’s essential that we give people the opportunity to enjoy the things that my generation had the opportunity to enjoy, for much the same reasons that we’re here looking at this bill now.

I do want to thank the following clubs who strongly supported the bill and they’re generally harness racing clubs, interestingly: Manawatu Harness Racing Club, Kaikoura Trotting Club, Rangiora Harness Racing Club, Wairio Jockey Club, Banks Peninsula Trotting Club, and Central Otago Trotting Clubs. I want to thank all those people who had an input into it, the committee staff who helped us and, in fact, did a very good job of advising us on a way of, I guess, achieving what we set out to achieve with this bill, without involving the big racing clubs in New Zealand who have the resources to do this on their own. It was very fortunate that when we passed the racing Act some 3½ years ago now, we inserted a clause defining “small racing clubs” because that’s just been transferred to this, and I think that’s been a bonus for this bill.

I also want to thank the Governance and Administration Committee, who helped shepherd this through to this point. I want to thank all those who’ve supported the bill as it’s got this far through the House, and I very much hope that it goes a little further today. This industry has struggled in New Zealand in recent years and any little glimmer of help that we can give them will be great for them. So I urge members to support the bill at third reading as it will give our volunteers running our small rural clubs new life and may well result in new people joining our great racing industry. Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is my pleasure to rise and stand and discuss the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill. It’s been wonderful: over the process of this bill, almost everyone in the House has reflected on their times at a small country race meet—and the wonderful electorate of Taranaki - King Country is also full of good stories. I was also, like my esteemed colleague across the aisle, not built to be a jockey, but simply sit on the sidelines and take a solid bet. I’m not a good better either; I just, you know, go by the colour of the horse and maybe the name. But sometimes it pays off.

So I just want to reflect—we heard that racing is the sport of kings, but up in Waipā, of course, Waipā is the “home of champions” and we’ve got some really long history of the racing industry, like we’ve heard right across the country. It isn’t just a huge part of our economy but it is also a huge part of our culture, especially for our smaller towns.

We’ve heard the pros and the cons. We know it is a conscience vote, and one of the pros we’ve heard about is the significant opportunity we get when we get to come together for a very small—and we now know the classification of that: very few meetings a year—racing club’s opportunity to come together. So we’ve got this wonderful park, and I have to think very carefully whether it’s in Whanganui electorate or the Taranaki - King Country electorate—it’s right on the border there. Maybe the carpark’s in King Country. But Te Kapua Park is a fabulous racetrack and we have had wonderful, wonderful New Year’s Eves there, and we’ve heard about it being a social environment, a family environment, and a wonderful day out. You know, we’d pack up the picnic and we’d take the kids down and there’d be a bouncy castle and a train and you’d go down to the birdcage and you’d pick out your horse and it was always very, very exciting and it was fun for everybody.

The fact that, at that stage, there was a licence required meant that there was a little bit of supervision of the alcohol consumption, but there was a licence to bring your own, and I think that the behaviour of those who turned up was very much peer-moderated. We had the young lads who turned up with a bit of beer, and those of us who had kids around, you know, we’d make sure that they kept themselves sorted. It was a real community responsibility that was taken very seriously. I can remember experiencing having a shandy with my nana. So the idea of actually introducing responsible drinking is, you know, something that happens at a race club.

Hon Member: Nothing like a shandy.

ANGELA ROBERTS: Nothing like a shandy, especially on a hot New Year’s Eve like we get under that beautiful maunga in Taranaki.

We really appreciate the care with which this bill has been shepherded through the House, and it’s interesting to observe the submissions that were made from all of these racing clubs. Not all of them are tiny and, you know, even good old Waverley Racing Club, which everyone would assume is small but mighty, it has seven meets a year so it isn’t even covered by this bill. So this is really very much about supporting those little race clubs who don’t have the infrastructure, they don’t have the bar and the licence and the staff and everybody else that would, quite frankly, not be as effective as my nana, I don’t think, at controlling the behaviour of those who did bring their alcohol.

We look after each other in our small communities, we make sure that we’ve got designated drivers, and we make sure that the shandy is very much more lemonade than beer. I think that we can be very reassured that in these really small clubs that meet so infrequently that, actually, it is possible for us to look out for each other. I know that when I had conversations with constituents across my electorate, it was a no-brainer to them. They really felt that it could be assumed that as communities they are mature enough to absolutely make sure that harm is minimised and risk is mitigated, and I think that’s been evidenced in all of the submissions that were made. I think, given that these submissions came from the communities most affected, it’s been really interesting that it is a community response; it’s about relationships and the maturity that will be expected of these communities to make sure that this lands well, and I think that’s great.

I think that actually reflects the strength of our rural communities, the fact that we look after each other. When things go wrong, we look after each other; and when things are going well—you know, when that horse comes in on New Year’s Eve on that beautiful sunny day when you’ve got your shandy—that we hang out with each other and we have a great time. It’s really nice, actually, that we have an opportunity to relax and have a good time and look after each other as rural communities, and that holds us in good stead when we have tough times like the East Coast has had.

So I think—personally, obviously, because it is a conscience vote—that this is a pretty solid bill and it’ll be interesting to see if all of those reflections that people have had about the importance of such a social occasion to our small communities is really recognised in, hopefully, this bill passing in the House.

There was opposition and they were fair challenges. We know that we have, in general as a society, got a long way to go to make sure that we are able to consume our alcohol responsibly and look after each other. We know that our statistics with drink-driving and family violence are not pretty. But this is something quite different: this is a community event and it is something that, like I say, I’ve spent many times taking my small children—who aren’t so small any more—along to race meetings and haven’t worried about, you know, a mosh pit or anything being something that they are going to have to be worried about. It has always been a family event and we’ve always looked out for each other.

I really do think that this has been a great little bill to bring to the House and I really appreciate the care—I didn’t sit on the select committee; we’ve heard from our colleagues who have shepherded it through and they were really clear that they took care to get the technicalities right. I think attending to “racing club” to “small racing club” means that this becomes really, really efficient and effective and it is something that will stand it in good stead. Obviously, we’ve had things like the Racing Act 2003 that has been replaced by the Racing Industry Act and a lot of those little technical details that mean that there’s no drama or problem with trying to reduce the compliance issues for our small racing clubs.

We’ve heard from many of our previous speakers about the challenges that our little racing clubs have had. Unfortunately, the idea of having a race meet at Te Kapua Park is no more, as racing clubs have consolidated their meets. Our really tiny racing clubs are in a precarious position, and something that can enable them to not have to have huge compliance costs—which I would argue don’t necessarily improve the behaviour of those who are attending a race meet—means that they are more likely to be able to engage their local community in a really great event.

I really thank Mr McKelvie for bringing this bill to the House, his commitment and his care for the industry and to his community is obvious, and it’s wonderful to be able to support that effort of Mr McKelvie’s to bring it to the House. So for those of us who enjoy a wee bet every now and then and a wee shandy while we’re having that bet, and whether or not we win or lose doesn’t matter because we can go and have a bounce on the bouncy castle and all will be forgiven. So I commend this bill to the House.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I’m very pleased to speak on this bill. The reason is clear: it’s not often, when we have a members’ day and we have a bill brought before the House by a member of Parliament, that it has a chance to reach consensus and support over broadly much of the House, and then go on perhaps to become law and to make a change that, whilst it may seem small and not overly significant to some, to those communities that it will affect, it absolutely will be.

I want to commend Ian McKelvie for the way he has conducted himself from the very first moment this bill was drawn, and then all the way through the process to third reading. Ian, I think you have gained much more support for this legislation than probably many thought was there at the beginning. It’s because of the respectful or responsible way you have raised these issues, listened to those that had concerns, and looked to address them, rather than what often happens in this place—we sometimes ignore the views of others and perhaps shout each other down. I also know that Ian McKelvie brings this legislation here because of a deep-rooted, longstanding interest and much experience in the racing industry—not the part that this bill is trying to allow people to have when they go racing, although I know that he responsibly has enjoyed that as well.

It used to be said that New Zealand was a country of racing, of rugby, and there was something else in there—it was probably often the drink, I’m not sure. The world has changed. We view all of those things—some people view them all—as vices now. If we are not victorious in the Rugby World Cup, those who beat us, it would be a vice.

But certainly, if you think about racing, whilst it is a very important part of the economy—in fact, that delivers significantly in as far as the breeding of thoroughbreds of racehorses is concerned; it employs a lot of New Zealanders and it is something that we should work very hard in this House to support. From the moment we get out of bed to the moment we go to sleep, whether we agree with the racing aspect of it—because it is important there and people take a lot of pride in it, and they put their life’s work into it.

But at the same time, there is another part of this sector, which is the enjoyment that everyday New Zealanders, with their families, have when they choose to go out one day a year, sometimes, to go to the races. They go because some people get to dress up or they get to go and see the horses, or the kids can have a hotdog on a stick, or they’re just going to be together with their friends. Many years ago, they might go along and sit on the lawn and bring their own food because they would have a picnic, and they might have a little bit of wine—or, probably in those days, it was just a bottle or two of beer.

Well, we’ve had to be very responsible, as lawmakers, to make sure that alcohol doesn’t harm people because, of course, its misuse can create significant amounts of harm. But in so doing, when it comes to the way we have agreed laws, we—collectively, many parliaments; not any party, but we as a Parliament—have agreed laws around the control of alcohol and the restriction of it, there has been consequence. Sadly, those decisions, or the interpretation of those decisions, by the police force who we ask to administer this for us has led to those who are responsible—want to have a little bit of fun with their friends and family, not cause any harm, and with their lunch or whatever else they’re doing, have a little bit to drink as they just enjoy that horse racing—we have had an impact upon that enjoyment.

Well, Ian McKelvie’s bill addresses that. I want to say to him that I thought it was a very good bill when he first brought it to the House. I was very happy to support it because his intentions are correct and he’s looking to fix a bit of New Zealand history and culture that should remain so people who are not causing harm can enjoy themselves.

But I must say that I think some of the suggestions that have been brought in through the select committee process show that select committees can work when there is a bipartisan approach to listening to submitters and finding solutions rather than party positions, as we often always see. The suggestion that this should be limited to small racetracks that have two or fewer betting meetings a year, I think, probably meets the requirements and gets the balance about right.

Look, if somebody is having four or five or six meetings, then actually it is more serious, I suppose, their engagement with racing—any racecourse in the country—and then they can go to the extra expense or complication of making sure that they are properly licensed.

But there will be tracks around the country that actually, in the new year after Christmas, have always had a race meeting and they choose to continue to do that. As local people go along, it’s the one time they go to the races every year or their friends or family visitors or holidaymakers go along there and they have a huge amount of fun in the sun. This legislation brought to this House by Ian McKelvie means that, actually, they get to have that little bit of fun, and if they choose to have a little bit of wine or beer with that, then the House believes that’s OK.

It doesn’t mean that people shouldn’t be responsible or that the hosts there don’t have responsibilities when it comes to the use of alcohol or what happens in that venue. It doesn’t, in this instance, drive people to want to do this where they wouldn’t otherwise. Because, actually, if somebody wants to go and drink on a Saturday, sometimes the races are the last place that they would go and maybe take a little bit of alcohol themselves.

It doesn’t diminish from the importance of the harm—and the work that this House and others should do to minimise harm—around alcohol, particularly with younger people. But what it does do is recognise that there is a part of New Zealand and its culture that is important to this country. For some, it will be a fabric of the type of country we have become—and that where people can be responsible and will be responsible and are able to share a drink with friends and family at one or two race meetings a year, then there must be a way for that to happen. I commend Ian McKelvie for bringing this bill.

I guess the final thing I would say is that people in this House will have different views. Some parties will have a view; for others it will be a conscience vote. Look, at the end of the day, each of us has to dig deep and decide what we believe is right and the rest of us should be very respectful of that. So there were people that’ll have a different view of this than me. Actually, that doesn’t mean that my view is better than theirs or that they are wrong or they think I’m wrong and they are right. It just is something in this House where we get to use our conscience and think those sorts of things through.

So however people decide to vote on this debate, we should be as respectful to each other as we are in the way we would explain this decision to those who are out having fun. But I would ask those who are a little bit unsure—who haven’t been to a racetrack very often, who maybe themselves wouldn’t understand or wouldn’t want to go and enjoy a bit of time; a pastime with friends and family in this way—just to think of the very many New Zealanders who do this, and they do it respectfully and responsibly. See if you can get to the point of deciding that, actually, this is one of the areas where that vote in favour can enable and allow New Zealanders to do something without it causing harm for them.

I think it’s very infrequent that a member of Parliament brings a bill to this House as a member’s bill, and it is discussed and considered as respectfully and as responsibly as this has been done. For any member that wants to think that, actually, Ian McKelvie is a good guy who has come here and brought this piece of legislation in good faith to make a small change for a very small part of rural New Zealand, this will be one of the very last things he does before he gets to retire with his head held high, very proud of what he’s achieved for his electorate and all of New Zealand. That vote in support of him would mean that he can, in his early retirement, travel around the country to those 10 racecourses and share a drink with them every Christmas from now until the rest of us have a chance to join them. I commend you for this, and I am very proud to support you, Ian.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, and, yes, I acknowledge Ian McKelvie for the wonderful opportunity that the biscuit tin provided him. When the previous speaker talks about how one of the last things he gets to do is this, I’m sure he’s had many last things he’s done over many years, whether it be in business, whether it be on council, whether it be here in Parliament. So I’m sure that Mr McKelvie has had plenty of wins in plenty of spaces and places. Tonight, I’m grateful to be part of a party—part of the New Zealand Labour Party—that allows us to vote on our conscience when it comes to topics of alcohol, and for that reason we on this side of the House hold differing views; who I sit next to on my left or right might hold a different perspective to what I hold.

This piece of legislation, the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill, is one that I won’t be supporting this evening. I respect Mr McKelvie and the work he does, as I’ve said, over many years, but this is one that I won’t be supporting. I want to, I guess, just explain a little bit why and sort of get to a place where—not that I convince others to vote my way but to know that my conscience in what I’ve been asked to do—

Simon Court: Go on—assume this is a debate and this is Parliament. Have a go.

GLEN BENNETT: —is the way that I will vote. So—thank you. I didn’t hear anything you said, but I don’t need to. I am the MP for New Plymouth, and in New Plymouth we have some very, very strong organisations, individuals, and groups that lobby me hard and push on many topics. Alcohol is one of them. Alcohol is one of them that, on an almost probably weekly basis, I am having conversations and being pushed on. For that reason, I want to honour the organisation New Plymouth Injury Safe, who are doing a marvellous piece of work in New Plymouth around what does it look like when it comes to alcohol reform, what does it look like when it comes to the reduction of harm in the consumption of alcohol. That’s why, for me—and I know people will think I’m a party pooper or I’m denying people things, but, thankfully, I get to make my choice on this vote, and I will be voting no.

But I guess I just want to reflect, as we look at the legislation—and I understand it’s a very small piece here today, but, obviously, I mean, I was part of an organisation a number of years ago where we did serve alcohol for a particular event and we did have to get a special licence, and I think that’s an appropriate thing to do, whether it’s to serve alcohol on the premises or to allow the BYO, I think, because it’s some checks and balances. They’ve been put in place for a reason: to ensure that organisations, to ensure that businesses, to ensure that racecourses and race meets have things in place to ensure that they protect people.

I often look at this House and what we do, and often it’s not looking at the majority of people; it’s looking at a small amount of people who often like to rort the rules or like to play them or just struggle when it comes to potentially something around alcohol. Four out of five New Zealanders do drink alcohol, and I acknowledge that; that it is a pastime that is intimately ingrained in our culture here in New Zealand, but one in four of those drinkers do drink hazardously. Of young adults particularly, two in five do drink hazardously. For me, in terms of the work I have done in community development and with young people, but also the work in this House, it is how do we ensure that our communities—how do we ensure that our culture is one that is inclusive and doesn’t allow others to trip or fall?

So when I look at this bill and I see it is—and we have several racecourses in my electorate, obviously our main one in New Plymouth, which is one of the bigger ones in our region. But I like, as I said, the checks and balances that take place when you use something, like having to apply to a council for a special licence. In terms of looking at the alcohol consumed in New Zealanders, it is a lot and I want to be part of a culture that starts to move away from that being just the given; that on a Friday night you go to the races or you go to the cinema or you go to a function or event and the first thing you are handed is a glass of wine or a bottle of beer. Because it doesn’t need to be that way.

This legislation isn’t anything that’s trying to encourage mass drinking, I know, but I think it’s the small wins that we can have where, actually, we say, “OK, how do we do it differently?” We don’t need to have alcohol served at every event or for us to enjoy an afternoon at the races, to enjoy an evening at the races. Yes, getting dressed up; yes, taking a pocketful of cash or whatever it is you do—it’s fine—but the fact that it doesn’t always have to involve a glass of wine or a bottle of beer.

When we look at the numbers, in 2018 there were 35 million litres of pure alcohol consumed in New Zealand. That equals quite a lot. Over the last 10 years, pure alcohol available for consumption in New Zealand—although it’s decreased slightly, there have been big increases when it comes to spirit-based drinks, up 22 percent, and wine, up 7 percent. I look at this House and I look back at the history of this House, and alcohol reform and alcohol legislation has often been something that has been fought out, that has been something that’s often been high up on the agenda, because it’s quite important, often for people and members of this House, which interests me. I think one of the early laws that were first passed in the New Zealand Parliament in the 19th century actually was around drinking alcohol on site at Parliament, because our rules were different to everyone else’s because—I don’t know, maybe we needed more, or maybe it was just a way of getting through the days or having to deal with other parties. I don’t know.

I want to thank the members of the Governance and Administration Committee, who have followed through; to the submitters who have been engaged in this process, because it is—and I’m always grateful for democracy in New Zealand, that we have these tools and these ways to engage. So often in current times we’ve had challenges and pushbacks, you know, in terms of a closed Government, but I look around the world and I would not want to be anywhere else but here to be a member of Parliament. Being able to sit on select committee and to be able to lean in and listen to what people think is good about legislation or to think about what they don’t like or to critique and to change and to find ways to make it better.

So, therefore, this Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill has been through that process, and again, Ian McKelvie, a passionate supporter, obviously, of the racing industry and still the spokesperson, I believe, for racing on the National Party. So yeah, I respect you for that. I won’t be supporting it tonight, but as we know across the floor, there’s been very different opinions and views on this piece of legislation. We’ve got this far, to the third reading. I’ll be interested to see where we go this evening. I assume I know where it’ll go, but that’s OK; I’m here to vote as I believe.

We need to have serious and hard conversations as a nation around alcohol. We need to be, I believe, in our clubrooms, on our sports fields, at our racecourses, in our businesses, in our schools, in our churches, on our marae, talking about a way forward when it comes to consumption of alcohol, looking at ways—for example, with smoking, 30 years ago that was just normal. My first job was in an office and smoking was still normal, and I remember walking in and being completely covered in smoke. I always thought, “Oh, this will never change.”, and then, of course, in the early 2000s, it was taking smoking out of bars and clubs. I thought that would never work; it wouldn’t change, but we have, and the culture has changed and people have leaned in and moved forward with the times.

I look forward to a day when we don’t spend time debating issues of alcohol or where it can be used or it can’t be used, because we’ve come to a place where we’ve found a path forward that supports our young people, that supports our vulnerable people, a place where we can ensure that, yes, we may have alcohol in New Zealand, but it’s drunk—if there is even a way—safely, that we don’t have addiction, we don’t have loss of life, we don’t have health issues. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the time and I won’t be supporting this bill.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise on behalf of the ACT Party as the spokesman for sport and racing. I see this is a momentous day for Mr McKelvie—I hope—and the small racing clubs in New Zealand. He’s like a thoroughbred jockey: he’s dropped the reins and he’s coasting home, and, hopefully, tonight we will get there.

Hon Michael Woodhouse: He doesn’t look that confident; he’s still got the bit between his teeth!

DAMIEN SMITH: Yes. I’ve heard the comments from the previous speaker, Glen Bennett. This bill is really quite simple. It does try to manage and put a sensible framework around the consumption of what really is taking a chilly bin to the races, for small racing clubs who have less than three meetings a year. They just don’t have the big facilities that the big racecourses do; you have to drive up there and open your boot up and be social. I think this exemption will encourage more families to attend smaller race meetings across the country and give our rural communities a shot in the arm to carry out the traditions of what has gone before for them, their parents, and their grandparents.

I think it’s a very sensible bill and the committee’s put it together in great shape. The facilities of New Zealand racecourses do vary greatly, and it’s important that we recognise that this is an essential part of looking at the fabric of rural New Zealand and supporting it.

The restrictions that have been ordered around the small racing clubs in the Racing Industry Act have now been defined, and we can move forward. We’d like to really empathise with the previous speaker’s comments about alcohol management, but we’d like to also make sure that a fun and atmospheric place for small racing still exists in New Zealand. We will be voting in favour of the bill and in favour of the committee’s work.

Tēnā koe, Madam Speaker. It’s a pleasure to rise and take a call on the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill. I think it’s a great use of the House’s time to spend talking about what is a pretty important industry to Aotearoa New Zealand. Can I acknowledge my colleague Ian McKelvie, who has brought this bill in its current form to the House. I’m in the position where Mr McKelvie is the member of Parliament for an electorate that completely encircles my own electorate. I cannot leave the borders of Palmerston North without encroaching upon his electorate of Rangitīkei. But I do know that many other members from all around the House will, I’m sure, agree with me that Mr McKelvie is one of those gentlemen of the House, despite political differences from time to time, and I know that that certainly occurs at a local level as well.

I want to acknowledge that he seems to have some success with members’ bills. I’ve had a look back over time and I see that he had a livestock rustling bill that was taken up by this Government—is now a piece of legislation. He also had a Dog Control Act amendment bill that meant that people like judicial justices of the peace (JP) could deal with dog control matters as category 1 offences—something that, as a judicial JP, I was very familiar with presiding over as well. Obviously, this bill as well. I thought maybe there’s a theme here that what he has in the biscuit tin also is something related to animal welfare or something alike—no, I see that it’s something to do with allowing a little bit more flexibility with the sale and supply of alcohol in a different sense for restaurants and the like.

I also know that this is something that the member is not only passionate about but is an industry that he knows a lot about. Previous contributions that he has made in this House—I know that he has commended members who have successfully shepherded through bills, particularly in situations where they know something about it. Given that I see Mr McKelvie probably as frequently on racecourses as I do in the House, that is a testament to his involvement in that particular sector.

I listened to the comments of my colleague, the member for New Plymouth, Glen Bennett—an excellent member—who identified that the position of the Labour Party is to treat this as a conscience vote. I think it’s really important that members should be able to freely express their views around why they wish to vote the way they do, and that is exactly what I intend to do this evening. I have taken the position of supporting this bill through all stages, and it is my intention to continue to support it at third reading this evening.

This is something that I think will assist those smaller clubs that are largely in rural communities. I remember when I was young, I saw a photo of my great-grandmother, who was dressed up to the nines and was in front of a semaphore. I didn’t know what a semaphore was back then but it’s basically the tote board where they used to change the odds. She was clearly dressed up, ready to go somewhere and have a good time. Sadly, when it comes to racing in the current context, those times have changed, as we move to more of an online offering—and I know that, as a Government, we’ve made some huge steps in that particular space as well.

But I do come to this bill with some experience in two areas. One, prior to Parliament, having served as a deputy chair of a district licensing committee (DLC) for my community, considering things like special licences, considering the reports by statutory officials, whether they be a medical officer of health, whether they be the police, or whether they be the local authority’s liquor licensing inspector. And yes—

Glen Bennett: You’re a jockey!

TANGI UTIKERE: I wasn’t a jockey, Mr Bennett. My sister will tell you that I used to ride my bicycle with a whip, pretending I was a jockey, but the common theme used to be around weight at the moment. But the issue there is that there is obviously an awareness of DLCs and the responsibilities that they have.

But I also come to this House with more than a decade dealing with judicial matters within New Zealand’s racing industry. So I spent more than 10 years as a member of the judicial control authority, which was an authority that was responsible for dealing with discipline matters, whether they be alcohol-related, drugs-related, conduct-related, protests, all of those sorts of things. So I have had my fair share of visits to racecourses around Aotearoa New Zealand. I sat down and I tried to tally up exactly how many racecourses I had been to. I got to 42—42. The majority of those racecourses I have managed to—in an official capacity—deal with in terms of my role as a member of the judicial control authority.

But I do know even places like Taranaki - King Country, where you leave Palmerston North and then the first racecourse you hit is Whanganui, and then you go to Waverley and then Hāwera and then Stratford and then Pukekura Park and then you get in the car and come back. Likewise, if you were to head up the East Coast, it would be a similar experience. But I reflect on the occasions where I have spent times on racecourses like those, but also racecourse in Cromwell, Gore, Winton, Wairoa, Waipukurau, Ruakākā. They all have a very different feel in terms of how they function. Yes, there are rules; there are regulations that govern the racing and the way in which things are conducted, but there are diligent, hard-working community members who go about their duties supporting those meetings. They really are huge community events. Why? Because people are passionate about the work they do in their community, but also because they know that this is an opportunity for communities to come together.

In my own electorate of Palmerston North, I know we have Awapuni, supported by the Government’s investment for an all-weather track of more than $10 million. But that is a commercial operation; it is a multipurpose operation—quite different to the nearby Manawatū Harness Racing Club, which I note was one of the submitters that submitted to the Governance and Administration Committee. They will be disappointed with the change, because as it stood prior to committee they were one of the clubs that would be permitted to function under this legislation, but, with the move to three or fewer, they will miss out. But I’m sure that they will still be, none the less, pleased with the recommendations that the select committee has made and what that means for other communities and clubs around New Zealand.

I want to just very briefly touch on some of the changes that the select committee has made that have led to the bill in its current form today. One is obviously we now have a bill in front of the House that changes the reference to racing legislation so that it is accurate—that’s a small change but an important one. But the key one is that it creates a distinction that captures some clubs and not others. That is by inserting the word “small”, which is defined in racing legislation as those clubs that hold three or fewer betting licences a year. For those who might be tuning in, thinking, “Well, what is a betting licence?” Well, the reality is we have clubs all around the country that conduct racing all year round. Not all of them, actually, have a betting licence where people can place wagers. So this would only apply to those clubs around New Zealand where the club held a licence and it was a club that held a number of meetings that sat at three or fewer per year.

I think this change that the committee had recommended and the House has clearly adopted is a good one because it targets where this law will lie. It is for clubs that don’t run meetings every month, it is for clubs like those in Gore who hold two or three a year, or in Kaikōura who I think, strangely, is the only club that holds two meetings a year that are back to back on a Sunday and a Monday. Well attended but also will ensure that it’s able to support those diligent workers who are fastidious about the duties that they undertake from the moment you set foot on the racecourse, from the car parking attendants right through to those who are committee members who go about supporting the work of the day.

Clubs still have a responsibility—that is clear—but I have full confidence in small clubs. I have confidence in their ability to manage things, to mitigate things, but also to ensure that they are continuing to do the work that does a couple of things. It will ensure that we have a strong racing industry here in Aotearoa New Zealand, but also that communities are able to continue to gather around a hamper or a picnic from the car boot, continue to enjoy a day out at the races, and something that I think will be a huge benefit rather than a barrier to local clubs. I commend this bill to the House.

E te Māngai, tēnā koe. Tēnā koutou e te Whare. Firstly, I just wanted to acknowledge Ian McKelvie for bringing this bill to the House. That is, obviously, a momentous day for any member when you manage to get a member’s bill to third reading, so I wanted to acknowledge him in that and the work that, obviously, is necessary to get to this place.

There’s been a broad-ranging debate about this bill, about the impact of racing, about our communities, about culture, and about the intertwining and—particularly from the member Glen Bennett from Labour just before—the kind of interconnection between sports and alcohol. So I wanted my contribution, on behalf of the Greens, this afternoon to reflect on a number of those things.

But, first and foremost, I think, perhaps it would be useful to zoom out a little bit and to think about alcohol in the context of how we regulate drugs in this country. The reality is that drugs of all flavours exist—those drugs being alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, and otherwise. It happens that alcohol is the most widely consumed drug in this country—of both the legal and illegal kind. It is our favourite drug, in that 80 percent of New Zealanders consume it—and, as Glen Bennett said before, a quarter of New Zealanders to incredibly harmful ends.

But when we are looking at substances like alcohol, like tobacco, like cannabis, or otherwise, we have a range of regulatory options in front of us. If we firstly accept the premise that those substances exist, then that those substances can potentially cause harm, it prompts the question of: how do we go about regulating those substances so as to best go about reducing that potential for harm? That spectrum, at one end of the extreme, looks like criminal prohibition—the kind of approach that we’ve taken, for example, under the Frankenstein Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which has simply seen greater proliferation of substances. It hasn’t wiped substances out; in fact, they’ve got far more dangerous. At the other end of the extreme, you have a complete legal free market, and many would say that that’s the end of the spectrum which alcohol tends to lean on.

At both ends of those extremes of the spectrum, you have the maximisation of harm. That is because, in the criminal prohibition end, you have criminal organisations, and at the other end of the spectrum, with regard to a complete legal free market, you have commercial or corporate organisations. At both ends of those extremes, those criminal organisations or those commercial organisations are incentivised to exploit vulnerable communities in order to make a quick buck; to sell as much of their product as is possible.

So the question or the, kind of, challenge for this House is: how do we go about pulling back from those extremes? The answer is through sensible regulation. Of course, as has been debated many times in this Chamber—not the least throughout this term—the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 fails in a lot of ways when it comes to regulating alcohol harm. And there’s been a number of proposals—not the least, members’ bills—that have sought to address parts of that.

Some of those interventions or policy tools might look like availability—as has been recommended as one of the most, kind of, best buys by the likes of the World Health Organization, in terms of an intervention that can reduce harm—pricing and marketing. Another intervention for potentially problematic use is the utilisation of what is known as a safe consumption space, where you have a duty of care on those who are supplying—or, at the very least, looking after those who are consuming that substance. In the context of alcohol, that looks like hospitality venues; it looks like our bars and our clubs and our venues.

What this bill seeks to do, the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill, is to remove, for sake of these small race meets, the offence of offering of one’s premises as a “place of resort” for a BYO, a bring your own alcohol. This is currently used—as submissions to the Governance and Administration Committee showed—for police to negotiate with organisers of those BYO events to try and minimise alcohol harm. But, as I understand it—and looking at the history of this bill—the issue emerged in around 2016-17, with race meets complaining that those meets were being restricted by police, and, as such, we ended up with this member’s bill from the honourable Ian McKelvie.

To that effect, in thinking about how we can go about exempting racing in particular, I’d like to say, first and foremost, why is this only applying to that one section of our society, given that we tend to see criminalisation of substances occurring for other types of communities? There is an imputed sense of responsibility, as well, that we’re hearing and many speakers have also spoken to with regard to the kinds of environments that a race meet provides—that is: a sense of community and that we’re looking after each other in other ways. To that effect, I’d say: why can’t we apply that same logical consistency to other substances—for example, when we’re looking at cannabis legalisation and control?

There is the opportunity for these special licences to already be provided and through this, kind of, BYO negotiation with the police, under the current “place of resort” potential offence. So, again, it kind of does just feel like it is potentially a solution looking for a problem, to a certain extent.

Others have spoken to the deeply intertwined sense between sports and alcohol. As I spoke in another bill just last night, it was actually the former National Government that commissioned the 2014 Ministerial Forum on Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship to especially address that deeply entrenched cultural problem, which was acknowledged came from legal structures which enable tens of millions of dollars to be poured into advertising, which, in turn, helps to create an environment where alcohol is consumed to excess. And we’ve seen consistent reports, commissioned by successive Governments, which have said precisely the same thing, all just to be ignored because, once again, I think, it’s put in the too hard basket.

So, in closing, on those points around how these race meets and this kind of negotiation with police about BYO is already possible, on the basis of the evidence around drug harm reduction, and in asking Parliament for a sense of consistency, the Greens are voting down this legislation today. But I understand from speakers who’ve come before me that it’s still likely to get through.

But just reflecting, finally, on those principles of basic harm reduction and, actually, some of the comments as made by previous speakers. I was listening quite intently to the Hon Todd McClay, who was speaking about how New Zealanders at these small race meets are just using alcohol, just using the substance, respectfully and responsibly—they’re doing something without causing harm to anybody else. I’d ask members across this House to think about that same logical consistency when considering the likes of other substances—for example, cannabis, which is used by 635,000 New Zealanders annually, 15 percent of this country. If we’re to talk about consistency, what we’re talking about there is a situation where, just last year alone, 180 New Zealanders were sentenced to prison for cannabis possession alone—for something which many were using, in the words of the Hon—

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Order! Order! Can I ask the member to come back. I appreciate her references going wider, and I understand that the member is broadly within other parameters of the third reading, but she’s in danger of straying just a little far out of that lane.

CHLÖE SWARBRICK: Appreciate that, Madam Speaker. So reflecting on those principles of drug harm reduction—that drugs exist regardless of wherever in the world they’ve tried to wipe them out—with the next question of “How do we go about reducing that harm?”, the answer is: evidence-based regulation. The Greens are opposing this legislation today.

I’m very pleased to rise and take a call in this bill, and to have the opportunity to provide a contribution on the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill. I do want to acknowledge the member Ian McKelvie for putting this forward as a hard-working member, and thank you to the members across the House for providing useful contributions. However, it is my perspective that in my contribution I will oppose this bill. There are a number of reasons as to why I will not be supporting this bill in the conscience vote.

So this amendment bill targets a small group of community individuals, that they would have the ability to consume alcohol, that under this bill they would not be required to apply for an actual liquor licence for the operators and owners due to their activity of small racing meets, because they will be able to purchase alcohol from an off-licence operator, transport that alcohol to the small race meet, and drink to their heart’s content, so without having to be monitored or checked. Even if the local police receive a complaint, it would not be followed up because it would be classed as legal activity.

There is no ability for the police to monitor the drinking levels of these individuals and, in my view, it is a waste of police resource. The bill is a conscience vote for democracy reform, and the definition is that the inner sense is to do what is right or wrong in one’s conduct or motives, impelling one towards the right action. So I have taken the opportunity to speak out, because I need to highlight to the House—and appreciate the views that have been put across—that there is far too much alcohol poisoning for the ability or availability for alcohol consumption.

So I want to highlight just a couple of things in my contribution, because in the area that I come from, under-age youth illegally drinking alcohol is a real problem that Aotearoa or New Zealand, in some parts of Aotearoa, across the motu, ignore. In my local area, I just quickly want to highlight—because in a former role that I had with Auckland Council, the area that I come from in Māngere, South Auckland, there are far too many off-licence outlets that provide a real problem, because we have under-age youth who access alcohol illegally by asking older members of the community to go into that nearby shop and to purchase their alcohol. This is a regular, real-life incident, and an ongoing problem, because our hard-working police members, our hard-working health officials in our community continue to work with families that our young people—specifically, I probably would refer to urban centres and some rural areas. There are far too many off-licence operators and shops that do this, and I want to just quickly acknowledge Communities Against Alcohol Harm and those who continue to work on the ground.

Back to the bill. What I read was Te Whatu Ora’s report. They provided a public health perspective to the Governance and Administration Committee, and I thank them for their work and their contribution on 12 September 2022. That specific report had a number of points, and stated that Te Whatu Ora has a role of public health and alcohol licensing. In their report, it stated how drinking levels would be monitored to protect under-age drinking levels, and then the fact that excessive drinking levels lead always to alcohol poisoning.

As I said earlier, what this bill promotes is unregulated drinking environments, which is a real problem for some of our youth across Aotearoa. This bill sends the wrong message to our community and specifically to our young people. As the authorities who are responsible to monitor and assist in minimisation of alcohol harm - related issues, you could say that our young people are going to us if this bill is passed.

So what is it? How do you distinguish what we can and what we can’t do? Because specifically it states in this bill that small racing meets will be exempt—they will be exempt—that they are able to have alcohol with these events of small racing meets, because they have purchased, and then they are within their legal right to have that alcohol from that specific alcohol activity, and who knows how much capacity will not be monitored. So this amendment bill, it normalises alcohol as an ordinary commodity. It is normalised behaviour in that communities across the motu will have different variations or different perspectives of what they’re able to do and not to do.

I specifically want to point out that in the legislation and in the reports that I read, the difficulty for police when they rock up—if they receive a complaint, they will be unable to assess who is at fault for allowing alcohol to be consumed at these small race meets and that they don’t have to worry about that. But given the role of police, given that they protect our community across Aotearoa, this replacement section 235A, inserted by clause 4 of the amendment bill, allows that very activity to proceed.

Just as I wrap up, what I also read in this bill was that a number of racing clubs did not support this amendment bill, because they do not want people to come with their own alcohol and consume it at their premises. In fact, I saw that six submitters supported this amendment bill, but there were those 10 submitters who opposed this bill, because this bill does not send a clear message across the motu. The legislation states that under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, the definition for consumption is clear, that if you have an on-licence, there are certain hours during the day that a club licence would be in force. This amendment bill, replacement section 235A, inserted by clause 4, has been drafted. Many submitters have provided wide views.

Also, I just want to mention the clubs who oppose this amendment bill: Alcohol Healthwatch, Hāpai te Hauora, the New Zealand Institute of Liquor Licensing Inspectors, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, Te Hā Oranga, the Salvation Army, Transforming Attitudes Towards Alcohol, Waikato Racing Club, and the Whanganui District Council—they opposed this bill because they are concerned about the increasing alcohol harm, and, specifically, the inconsistency of the purpose of the Act and the necessity.

Why will horse racing be treated differently than other events? Loud and clear, a contribution from New Zealand Police. Loud and clear, Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand, both who are big authorities in Aotearoa New Zealand. They have advised their perspective, professional opinion based on evidence, based on legislative policies, based on the suggested proposal.

The Ministry of Justice—just as I wind up—have advised that this bill undermines the current licensing regime and, additionally, would prevent police from providing a very clear perspective, being not clear as to have the police powers to hold someone accountable if activity gets out of hand. According to all those reasons I have stipulated, I remain opposed to this amendment bill.

With apologies, before I take next speaker, can I please remind the member who has just concluded her speech of Speaker’s ruling 49/5, which describes the convention of this House that speeches are not to be read. The member is still a relatively new member, although not the newest member, and it is time that the member transitioned and to comply with that convention. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. First of all, I want to congratulate my colleague Ian McKelvie. Not only has he had a stunning run of success in ballots, but he also has a real passion for the racing industry. This bill is a practical thing that he can actually do to help racing in New Zealand. So, well done, Ian. Ian McKelvie has been a strong member for Rangitīkei for a number of years now and he, obviously—

Tama Potaka: Second-best place to grow up.

Hon DAVID BENNETT: “Second-best”, Tama says. But your contribution to that electorate and also the racing industry is very much welcomed and appreciated and acknowledged here today. So, well done, Ian.

This bill probably doesn’t even need to come to Parliament. We shouldn’t be having to debate these things, in reality. There are some things in life that just could carry on and if we put too many regulations on in our community, we get to the stage where we have to legislate to do something that is part of New Zealand’s history and culture. The traditional Boxing Day races or small event races that happen throughout the country are there for enjoyment, for people to come along, for communities to come together, for families to come together, and just enjoy time together—and often they’re in a holiday sort of mode, and having a drink is part of that and shouldn’t be a problem in our society. We have made that so difficult.

We have, basically, said that you can’t do that, and taken that enjoyment out of people’s lives. There’s no real reason we should have gone that far down the track. The reality is that these things should have been able to happen anyway. I just am a bit disappointed that New Zealand has got to this stage where we have to pass legislation like this to actually enable New Zealanders to have some fun, effectively, and to enjoy themselves. So it gets to this point where we have to do this. Well done, the honourable Ian McKelvie, for working that out and getting that through. But the point is: do we really need to get to a stage in our country where we have to pass bills like this so that people can just live a normal life?

Next up, racing is part of the fabric of New Zealand and it has really had some tough times in recent years. We had the Minister for Racing in front of the Governance and Administration Committee, in fact, this morning—the same committee—and he talked about the racing arrangements that had come into place with the Entain deal, what they’re doing around betting, what they’re doing around the transformation of the TAB and the role it’s going to play in the future. So there’s a lot of attention in the racing industry around what is happening in Parliament these days, because they are an industry that’s struggling, TAB is struggling, and the Government has an effective role in setting legislation that dictates a lot of their future. So they are taking a very active interest now, as they have done in the past as well, around what is happening in this room, because it can actually have a huge influence on the future ambitions of the industry and where it wants to go.

The industry itself doesn’t want to lose events like this bill deals with. It doesn’t want to lose some of that community feel from race meetings that people might attend on a one-off basis or on a very basis in the community. That’s part of the excitement of the industry and it’s also part of the encouragement of people to continue to pursue the industry at other levels as well.

So when we look at what is happening in racing at the moment, it’s really important to take the perspective that this is part of the equation, and it’s actually something that, if we constrain the industry at all different parts of the equation, you can actually lose an industry very quickly. To take away that enjoyment, the fun, the ability to run these kind of meetings, to have people go along, to have horses go along, to have communities engaged can really be detrimental long term for a community.

Thank you, Madam Speaker. I understand nobody wanted to take the second five-minute call, so if I drift into a 10-minute call, I’m sure I can trust you’ll indulge me. Is that all right?

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): You’re going to have to put that again, I’m sorry. Point of order?

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: I am not seeking to take the second five-minute call of that slot, so I will trust you’ll indulge me if my contribution takes longer than five minutes.

ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Thank you.

Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: Thank you. It probably won’t be much, but there’s a few acknowledgments. I think Damien Smith, in his contribution, described Ian McKelvie as “heading down the home straight”, “hands off the reins”, and “doing something of a victory pose”. I don’t get that; that’s not my perception: in fact, I think Ian McKelvie is holding on tight to the reins as he rounds the bend, seeing one last hurdle. In fact, I’m beside him, stride for stride, supporting him in the one-one as we get to the end of this process that I know, if it is passed, if it achieves the support of this House, will clarify an element of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act and won’t increase harm.

Is it the third or fourth member’s bill Mr McKelvie has had? I must confess, and this isn’t going to be a valedictory, but this is one of the many things—for Mr McKelvie, that is! I’m not announcing anything today by any means; in fact, quite the opposite. I am so jealous of the fact that in my 15 years in this place I’ve never had a bill pulled out of the tin that I’m going to stay here until I blimmin well do. Now, given that I expect that I’ll be a Minister again in 4½ months’ time and then that for nine long years, I predict now that I might be here till about 2033 or 2034—by which time I’ll still be younger than Mr Ian McKelvie, so there’s plenty of time to get that member’s bill out of the ballot. So I’ll send him a telegram when I do!

But this is a really good day, and I think this is an example of a couple of things: a good idea by member and a select committee that worked very cooperatively and, I think, were sensitive to the concerns that a number of the submitters had.

I want to acknowledge Ms Sosene for a passionate but I think slightly misguided contribution on this bill, because one thing we will agree is that there is harm in our communities from alcohol. But the reality is: it is not happening at these small summer race carnivals.

I was actually privileged to move, on Mr Ian McKelvie’s behalf, the second reading of this bill on 7 December. Then we headed off for our summer breaks, and, as is the ritual in my family, Madam Speaker, it was to, among other things, two racing carnivals in places, parts of the country that are well known to you.

Firstly, I think it was about 2 or 3 January, at Central Otago Trotting Club in Ōmākau, a beautiful day and the largest crowd the Ōmākau races has had probably for about 20 years. I spent probably more money on coffee than alcohol. But the large crowd was incredibly well behaved. It was the first time probably in the last two decades that there was no checkpoint at the gate because—and again, Lydia Sosene’s comments about police resources being diverted—they manage risk where it occurs. There were a couple of police who I think chose to be there because it’s a great day out, but there was absolutely no trouble. Hasn’t been for the—well, I’ve probably been going there for 40 years, since I was a child—certainly for the last 20 years, regularly.

Then a few days later at the Wyndham Harness Racing Club in Cromwell, which is another area I know Madam Speaker knows well. The weather wasn’t so good; in fact, a massive thunderstorm hit at about race eight or nine, and headed said people scurrying. But again, absolutely no behavioural difficulties whatsoever.

Now, in fact, over the years, I probably spent more money on the tombola than I have on bottles of wine or beer because you know—or some obscure cuddly toy or game that my daughters insisted that they had to have. That’s run by the Omakau Volunteer Fire Brigade. That’s the sort of event we’re talking about, and it’s been great to hear from other members right around the House about their experiences of that.

I want to actually acknowledge Graham Sinnamon, the president of the Central Otago Trotting Club, because he brought a reality to what we are doing with his submission. I touched on it briefly at our second reading, but he had data and he had photographs and he had police reports and doctors’ reports going back over a very long period of time. And this is one of the largest small carnivals in the South Island at Ōmākau. So to Mr Sinnamon and the members of the Central Otago Trotting Club, we listened, we empathised, we understood, and it brought, I think, a reality to the two things that we wanted: to make sure that there was a benefit but not an increased risk. I think that submission very much satisfied those two elements.

I think I’ll leave it there. I know there were a number of members who were concerned but prepared to support it at first reading, probably less concerned at second reading when there was a significant support of this House, and I hope that we will continue to have this support because our summer carnivals, the Kiwi traditions that Mr David Bennett talked about, will be better for its passage.

Members, I have determined that the subject of this vote will be treated as a conscience issue. In this case, I know there are members who want a personal vote, and I am prepared to accept one. This is the process that we’re going to follow: I’m going to put the question, I’m going to announce the result. At that stage, any member can ask for a personal vote.