Roche Denise: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoche Denise: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 12 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:14566. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DENISE ROCHE (Green): When this New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill comes to the vote this afternoon for its third and final reading I implore members across the House to vote against it. I am deeply saddened to be in a Parliament that will make a law that will cause its own citizens harm and that will increase the prevalence of problem gambling in my city of Auckland. That will have an impact on individuals on families on our communities on businesses on not-for-profits and by the Government officials’ own account will also have an impact on around 6500 children who will be directly affected by problem gambling arising from the increase in gambling opportunities in this legislation.I am ashamed that this bill is being passed when the proper and full economic analysis has not been done and when even the Treasury advice says that the benefits to Skycity from the gambling concessions in this deal outweigh the public benefits of building an international convention centre. We know that with the extension of Skycity’s gambling concessions it will be the taxpayer who will carry the cost for the coming years not Skycity. So the increased problem gambling social and community harm—which includes family violence suicide and child neglect—and crime including loan sharking and money-laundering and the increase in costs associated with mopping up will all be paid for by the taxpayer.I am deeply disheartened that the Government has been entirely focused on its backroom deal to the point where it has trampled over due process. Democracy was trampled on transparency was trampled on and accountability was trampled on. The Government deliberately misled other organisations like Ngāti Whātua and The Edge which had also tendered to build the International Convention Centre. They were misled during the tender process and they were not even going to ask for gambling concessions around this.I am deeply disturbed that the Government can sell us out so cheaply. In exchange for the $402 million convention centre we will not even own that convention centre and this legislation will give Skycity 230 new pokie machines 40 gambling tables and 12 automated tables with 20 seats each. I forgot to mention that as well as that Skycity will welcome money-launderers into its arms with the ticket-in ticket-out system that it is seeking to introduce. I cannot fathom how we can be such poor negotiators that we cannot even negotiate a cost-neutral deal. I guess we have to ask why a Government would allow for those costs—which in terms of this deal are another 8000 or so people harmed by problem gambling—to be not only uncosted but ignored so totally.One of the submitters on this bill said that if one single person was harmed at all by this deal then the price was too high and he is right. What kind of Government thinks it is OK to deliberately create human misery with its legislation? Do we need a convention centre so badly that we would harm our own citizens to get it?The independent economic projection from the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research says that there will be only 18 jobs created as a result of it and for that we will get 6500 neglected children. Physicians are guided by the principle “First do no harm.” I call on politicians across the House to do the same and vote against this bill.