Carter David: Gambling Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Carter David: Gambling Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8475] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (NZ National) 
: 
 I want to pick up on the contribution made by the Minister when he said that this legislation will enable his Government to help casinos. That is what the Minister said. 
Judith Collins 
: He said that? 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: He said if we look back through his  
Hansard 
: “We are here to help casinos.” So I ask the Minister to open up his Supplementary Order Paper and explain to us when he takes the next call what is meant by new clause 8B which states: “No increase in casino gambling”. The clause provides that: “A person must not increase the opportunities for casino gambling.” I ask the Minister if he is here to help casinos what that clause is doing in the legislation Does he really expect the successful casinos that are operating around New Zealand not to attempt to increase the turnover of their business and not to encourage more people to come in through their doors and enjoy a night of fluttering on the machines or the tables? Does the Minister really expect that to happen? If the Minister is suggesting that this legislation will prohibit an existing casino from attempting to increase the profitability of its business then he is dreaming. 
I also want to pick up on some of the comments made by Heather Roy and take this opportunity to read into the debate my compliments to some of the casinos that do operate in New Zealand. I know that in my own area of Christchurch we have a very professionally run company that has provided employment since it opened to thousands of New Zealanders particularly young New Zealanders—a lot of them without a lot of skill but some of them with a huge amount of personality. I say good on it to the Christchurch Casino for the work it has done there. I do not particularly enjoy going to the casino myself; it is not something that appeals to me but clearly by the number of people who go in and out of the front doors of that establishment it appeals to a lot of New Zealanders and to a lot of our visitors. But the most important things it is providing are entertainment opportunities and employment opportunities. 
I was recently in Auckland and stayed at the hotel associated with Sky City. I spent a little bit of time wandering around there and I make the same comments. It is a very successfully run organisation; it is one of the most successful companies on the stock exchange. If George Hawkins thinks we will be voting today on a Supplementary Order Paper that suggests there will be no increase in casino gambling then I say to him that he is dreaming. 
I want to also pick up on a very interesting press release that I have come across from the New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services. The headline of this particular press release put out by Major Campbell Roberts of the Salvation Army based in Christchurch—a remarkable individual an absolutely remarkable individual—states: “United Future sold itself to New Zealanders as a party of common-sense family values and many citizens voted for them for that very reason.” He goes on to say: “However United Future’s latest policies so directly contradict their stated value base that the party risks alienating its supporters at the next election.” Major Campbell Roberts went on to say that this Government’s proposed legislation changes call into question United Future’s and Labour’s claim to care about creating a culture that values families and strong communities. 
Mark Peck 
: Wind it up. 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Mark Peck suggests we should wind it up. He does not want to debate this legislation. He is not prepared to take a call. He is about as wimpish as he was when we had a farmers’ rally recently in Invercargill—he would not even front up. 
Jill Pettis 
: Why didn’t you listen to Major Campbell Roberts about market rents? 
Hon DAVID CARTER 
: Now we have Jill Pettis having a crack. She wants to talk about market rents. We are talking about the Government’s Gambling Bill. The member should take a call.