Turei Metiria: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Second ReadingText is subject to correctionTurei Metiria: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 05 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:14351. Text is subject to correction.]METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green): Outside this Chamber on the lawns of Parliament today you will see a life-size replica of the 230 pokie machines 240 automated gaming places and 40 gaming tables that John Key is giving to Skycity in exchange for a building. There is no better representation of the scale of this deal than the cardboard casino that is constructed outside. It is a casino equivalent in size to the third-largest casino in this country. I urged all members earlier today to go out and have a look at the cardboard casino before they voted on this deal. In fact there is still some time—it will be up for a few more minutes yet. So if you have not had a look I urge you to do so because it is really important to the families who will suffer from the effects of problem gambling that you know what you are voting for today if you support the New ZealandInternational Convention Centre Bill. If it leads one or two of you to change your minds all the better. But at least know what it is that you are doing as a third—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order!METIRIA TUREI: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker. I was on the Commerce Committee which heard the submissions on this bill and we heard and read very tragic stories of gambling harm that has been caused in the past and that is feared for the future. A high school teacher in Manurewa told MPs that he came from a family of gamblers. He did not gamble himself but his younger brother did. After several years of working and saving in the UK this man’s brother returned to New Zealand with a deposit to look for a home to buy. His fiancée was arriving soon after to join him. By the time his fiancée arrived in New Zealand the deposit was gone. It had been squandered entirely on gambling. This man’s brother became suicidal because he knew that he stood to lose his fiancée and his life as a result of the gambling harm that he was suffering. Fortunately for him he had a fiancée who did love him and who loved him enough to support his recovery. She got him the professional help that he needed for his gambling addiction. His siblings supported both of them in this recovery process. This submitter’s brother got the help that he needed and was able to maintain and recover his relationship and his life and he no longer gambles.But not everybody will be so lucky. The Asian Family Services branch of the Problem Gambling Foundation came to the Commerce Committee and described the cases that it sees: suicide loan sharking family violence and divorce—all the result of problem gambling. The painful experience of clients who are affected by problem gambling from Skycity Casino gambling cannot be measured simply in financial terms. Asian Family Services is adamant that this deal will lead to harm in their community. Only those who have been affected know how painful the experience is and understand that any deal is not a good deal if it creates more pain in our community and for our families. Many Asian Family Services clients worry that this deal will cause more new migrants to lose their savings when they arrive in New Zealand. This means the loss of their dream of a new and better life in this country and the loss of their contribution to our community.Bob McCroskie from Family First whom we do not always agree with related a terrible story of a father and recently widowed husband who lost everything to problem gambling at the casino. We heard of the desperation of this man’s family who tried to help but who were thwarted by Skycity. They saw no evidence of Skycity managing their father’s self-ban. He had a Skycity gold card and all the family saw was enticement after enticement by Skycity for this man to come back to spend more to gamble more and to lose even more. So in the end this loved family man was insolvent at the time of his death owing $200000 in stolen money to his employer and to his family. That is a terrible last memory of a life that was otherwise well lived.Today the National Party ACT and United Future are all ready to vote to create more of these stories and to create more of this harm for families affecting thousands of New Zealanders as set out in the Minister for Economic Development’s own advice. Make no mistake this is a moral issue. When this Parliament is deciding to support a building by increasing problem gambling it shows just how far the Government is prepared to compromise on basic morals and decency. Some MPs who support this deal will no doubt listen to the stories of people affected by problem gambling and respond with platitudes of “So personal responsibility.” My response to that is that it is precisely the job of the Government to make good law to protect public health and prevent harm. If those MPs cannot be bothered doing their job then they should get out because all they are doing is causing more harm for families who do not deserve it.Today I asked the Minister for Economic Development Steven Joyce about the harm minimisation advice that he received and the fact that much of it was withheld after hisconsultation with Skycity. We can only surmise that Skycity wants to keep secret this information about the extent of the harm caused by its casino and the increase in harm caused by this deal because it is commercially sensitive. That can mean only two things. First it means that a significant proportion of the profits that the casino reaps is from problem gambling. Actually we do know that. Around 40 percent of the profits of pokie machines come from problem gamblers. It is not new information so why the secrecy? Second it means that Skycity uses the information gathered for harm minimisation purposes to market to problem gamblers. We know of case after case where problem gamblers have been part of the Skycity loyalty programme. We know Skycity can track their spending and it is supposed to track it so it can intervene if that person’s gambling becomes a problem. But in fact as families report that information is not used to help a problem gambler; it is used to encourage the problem gambler because the business model of the casino relies on people having a gambling problem and a gambling addiction.This deal sells our gambling laws to Skycity for $400 million. So what is to stop other sales of our law? We have already seen the sale of our employment law to Warner Bros. What is to stop John Key and Steven Joyce selling our tobacco control law to Philip Morris in exchange for something? I do not know—a new motorway perhaps? Then at the end of the day the Minister’s own advice shows that 6500 children will be harmed in exchange for 18 new jobs—6500 children will be harmed by this deal in exchange for 18 new jobs. At the end of the day this bill is not about a convention centre. If the Government has the money to build a motorway it has the money to build a convention centre. Frankly it is irrelevant. Just as cigarettes are described as nicotine delivery devices the convention centre is simply a casino delivery device for Skycity. This bill is a deal done over a couple of dinners between John Key and Skycity where John Key has lent to Skycity the full capacity of the Government to overturn gambling laws that have hindered Skycity’s expansion plans. The convention centre is simply a convenient excuse to enable Skycity to expand as it has wanted to do for a decade.I urge MPs to visit the cardboard casino before it comes down this afternoon and to consider your consciences. Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga Jonathan Young Peter Dunne John Banks Alfred Ngaro Chester Borrows Jian Yang Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi: consider your consciences in deciding whether to support a bill that by every measure and by all evidence will cause harm to New Zealand families. Thank you.