Faafoi Kris: Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFaafoi Kris: Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 27 November 2014. Volume:702;Page:942. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana):Thank you very much for the chance to speak to the second reading of the Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill. I might take this opportunity to as Mr Sabin said give a “hot-mouth” speech to this bill but I think it is very important that we do debate this piece of legislation fully. We understand that there are time constraints because on 14 February next year the Cricket World Cup will start in Christchurch. I think I myself like many people around the House who are sports fans want to make sure that that tournament and the FIFA U-20 World Cup that is played shortly after that are held and completely and utterly have no question marks over some of the behaviour around those events. We want to make sure that they are showcases as best as we can for New Zealand.As part of my new responsibilities under Andrew Little’s leadership I have been given the portfolio of racing. I will be asking for plenty of help from Sue Moroney who has experience in that sphere. But part of that responsibility—[Interruption] Thank you. But part of that responsibility is for the New Zealand Racing Board and the activities of the TAB and we want to make sure that the integrity and I guess the economic benefits of sports betting are kept and make sure that all the proceeds that come about from sports betting go back into the codes that are covered by that. So this is a very important piece of legislation to make sure the economic benefit and the emotional attachment that New Zealanders have to making sure that the sport is fair is kept intact.As I said I was a bit of cricket tragic when I grew up and continue to watch cricket. And as you watched tournaments like the 1992 Cricket World Cup you were hoping and you knew that the players who were playing for New Zealand were out there doing the best for their country. But it is unfortunately a reality of international sports these days that sports match-fixing has crept into top-level sports. There have been a number of cases in the last year—one I think where Lou Vincent has become the hero-villain for exposing the extent of what was happening with our top-level cricketers and we need to make sure that there is integrity in our top-level sports. I think it is a sad state of affairs that we do have to come to this Parliament and pass this kind of legislation but at the end of the day it is an unfortunate reality of the world we live in.Sports match-fixing is at its nastiest when people who have the ability to make profits have relationships with people who can affect the outcome and that is where the value is for what you would call match fixers because they will have relationships with people within the sports teams who can either bowl a no-ball or bowl wide and for sports betting be able to manipulate the outcome of a match. That is an interesting thing to look at when you look at the anatomy of match-fixing when someone can manipulate the outcome to get benefit.I guess that is what we have seen in the reports that have come out this week. We had an official in John Key’s office his deputy chief of staff who had access to information because he held that position from the SIS and passed that on to another staff member in Mr Key’s office who then went to someone he had a relationship with Cameron Slater to manipulate an outcome—to manipulate an outcome. So there is a strange irony in what we are doing here today because that Government over there is quite happy to manipulate an outcome. When any other fair-minded Kiwi—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member knows the subject of this debate. The previous speaker from his party made a passing comment. If the member continues to direct the flow of his speech along these lines he will be in breach of the rules of the House. I ask him to come back to the point in hand.KRIS FAAFOI: Thank you very much Mr Deputy Speaker for your guidance. I was just coming to the end of my point that any other New Zealander would call that cheating. Kiwis do not like cheating. They find it abhorrent. It is not the way that we do things; it is not cricket. So when they see people manipulate situations to their benefit when they should not have been doing that they do not like that. They do not like that at all whether it be sporting at the top level at Lancaster Park or here at the stadium or whether it be at their own sportsgrounds watching their kids play. They do not like it. They certainly do not like it in their politics either. So this bill goes to integrity. This goes to whether or not this is fair.New Zealanders will be watching these events that are going to be happening early in 2015 and subsequent events that this piece of legislation will cover. They will say: “If you jimmy the system if you work it to benefit you and it goes against the rules that are set out then it is not a good look.” They will make judgments as they have with sportspeople and as they will with their kids who might play rugby on the weekend or adults who are participating in sports or their politicians. If there is one thing about Kiwis they like people to get a fair go. That is why the show Fair Go has been so popular for decades. Kiwis fundamentally believe in the notion of getting a fair go and when they see someone on the other side who is not getting a fair go they seem to think that the people who are not giving people a fair go should not be there any more—given the red card I should say. I think that is what most Kiwis will think about.When we are out there thinking of laying a bet on a Cricket World Cup game or on the FIFA World Cup we will lay that bet thinking that everyone is playing by the rules. When you lay a bet or cast a vote next time you will know who is playing by the rules and who is not. There will be maybe a track record maybe like we have in the Turf Digest or the form book or the book you get at the races. You will see what that horse what that team or what that party has done for the last 3 years and say: “OK given that form am I going to back this party am I going to back this horse or am I going to back this team anymore?”. I think you will see in 3 years’ time that some horses will have done well and some horses will have faded away.This does go down to integrity in the sporting sector. I think as Mr Mallard said earlier in his contribution around the select committee process that it could have been tighter because there are codes within specific sports where we can make sure that those align closer to the sporting bodies and what is in this legislation. We do want to make sure we do have integrity around this process of sports betting. There are a lot of proceeds that go from sports betting into the sports that we have that are run by the TAB—the likes of cricket rugby and rugby league. Mr Deputy Speaker I know you have just blown the buzzer on me and I will call to a close soon but I do want to call back to what is important about this. It is about integrity. It is about whether or not we trust our sportspeople or people who operate horses—or maybe our politicians—to act with honesty and integrity. I think as you look at that form book and you want to back a horse or back a team that is doing things properly and playing by rules you will not put your money on a team that has run the vilest smear campaign out of the Prime Minister’s office for the last 6 years.