Bennett DavidHon DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East): Thank you Mr Speaker. First I'd just like to acknowledge the Minister that has brought this bill before the House the Rt Hon Winston Peters. I think he has shown a real dedication to the racing industry over many many years. I congratulate him on bringing this bill in front of the House. It is something that is very welcomed within the racing industry and I believe within the sports as well. So I wish to pay him credit for that. It builds on the work that had been done by previous committees of this House and it is something that is important for the future of racing and sport in New Zealand.We have a strong and proud history in racing and let's not forget that. It is part of our culture and our traditions and we all love to embrace when a New Zealand horse wins the Melbourne Cup or another race. It's part of what we see as our culture and it's part of our agricultural heritage and it can be part of our future income earning potential as well.There is a future in racing and it is a strong future and it may need to change and it may need to develop but that's like any other industry especially any primary industry that works in a new market and with new directions. This is an integral part of giving racing not only the signal that this Parliament supports it but also the confidence to go out and achieve that future. We wish the racing industry the very best in doing that.Aligned with that sport has exactly the same opportunity from this bill. In fact I would say sport earns more money out of this bill than racing will in the future. This actually will cement and create a future in sport that they would not have had a year ago and I think that is something that they acknowledge. Of course they'll be negotiating for the best deal they can but that's part of this bill and this process.If we go back to racing for a minute: if we look at the racing industry there is huge potential in what we can see in the Asian markets and once China develops its racing industry that will be an opportunity for New Zealand horses New Zealand jockeys and New Zealand trainers to actually go out there and take on that market—and particularly New Zealand breeders because we are one of the very few countries in the world that produce world-class horses. On our borders and in our future there will be a large market for those horses over time. You just have to look at the Singapore and Hong Kong markets and how massive they are now and with the opening up of the rest of China that will be a great opportunity for our region. There is also the Australian opportunity that we see now as well.But this should not be let go as the opportunity for New Zealand racing. I wish to see the plan from the Minister for Racing for the next step. We know this is the first step of legislation. There's another step of legislation that is going to come before this House later next year. But there is a step in between and that is what we do with this money for the racing industry. If we just put that money into the grand pot and let it be evaporated around the racecourses of New Zealand we will not get the full potential. There needs to be strategic change within the industry. There needs to be some hard choices made around tracks and what kind of races we have. Those choices are not made in this legislation. The Minister is not proposing to make those choices but what the Minister is proposing is to give a cash injection which would enable the industry to make those choices. I really encourage the industry to look at this money and then to go out there and look at what we actually need.We need races that are of value for people to invest in horses and for trainers and jockeys and drivers to be able to get a return on their investment. We need to create that category of racing with this kind of money and not dilute it through the whole industry. We need to make sure that we create that world-class industry where there is that potential and that will be the secret of what the Minister does next. I will encourage him to take that on board because this legislation gives an opportunity. But let us not lose that opportunity like we have in the past. Let's make this opportunity one that actually works for the industry going forward and that can never be in legislation making those choices. Well it could be but it's not actually the best place for it. The best place is for the industry the Minister and others to come together in agreement on that.That brings me to the next big point of this legislation which is that there is an element of good faith in it. All three codes have come together in good faith. None of those codes have guaranteed representation on the future board. None of the sports organisations have guaranteed representation on a future board. None of those codes have guaranteed distribution percentages coming forward from this and none of the sports codes have guaranteed distribution percentages. But that is not a problem because all have argued and agreed to work in good faith and they're working in good faith so that nobody is left behind so that nobody loses out of this bill. But the rewards that this bill gives to racing and to sport are fairly and evenly distributed so that all can gain. They all see the potential in working together rather than against each other for common goals and that is the second thing I think the Minister needs to really support and work with. There is an element of trust between the three codes and between sports and if the Minister gets that right he can continue that good-faith element so that the issues around distributions or representation on boards aren't the major thing. What is the major thing is that there will be that gain there for racing and sport. You may ask: how much is in it for sport? Well if you look at the departmental report they're talking about $18 million to $33 million per annum for sport. Those are substantial investment numbers that could come into sport. So there is what we had in the past called the race fields legislation which had an information charge and a consumption charge which would enable New Zealand racing and sport to gain from overseas betters on New Zealand races. In addition to that the Minister has put into this legislation the removal of the levy that sports and racing would pay. That 4c levy now is in addition to the consumption and information charge.Just on rough back-of-the-envelope numbers you're probably getting about $10 million coming out of that for sport. But if you look at the potential it could be that $18 million to $33 million. That will be a massive injection into our sports codes. As Kieran McAnulty rightly acknowledged some sports may wish for more than that. But the reality is the TAB had been set up by New Zealand Racing Board and there is an element that other sports use that particular avenue for looking at how they get their investment.This bill is an opportunity not only for racing but for sport and I really encourage all the parties that are involved to continue with that good-faith element. I encourage the Minister to not look at just passing this legislation and then going on to the second legislation. That legislation won't solve the issues. What will solve the issues are strong financial decisions made by our racing codes and our racing clubs and the racing industry in general. This gives the opportunity for that to happen. So I applaud the bill for this House. I think that it is good legislation that will enable good change to happen and sports will succeed as a result of this as well. So I congratulate all those that have been involved in it and commend it to the House. Thank you Mr Speaker.