Goff Phil: Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeGoff Phil: Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 04 December 2014. Volume:702;Page:1157. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon PHIL GOFF (Labour—Mt Roskill):This is a very very short bill. The Labour Party will be supporting the bill because we are hosting in February-March next year the Cricket World Cup and we are hosting in May-June the FIFA U-20 World Cup.We know that there is a growing problem with match fixing. Match fixing is utterly unacceptable. It is unacceptable because it breaches the fundamental sporting code that sporting contests should be fair and the result should genuinely reflect which side is the superior side in terms of its sporting skills. We know that we have to deal with it because this is much more than just sport. Match fixing is a critical form of fraud and crime that is growing in the world.We have known of course for about 6 years that we are hosting the international Cricket World Cup. What worries me about this bill is despite its shortness—just four clauses—it appears to have been drafted in some haste to the extent that the Legislation Advisory Committee took one look at it and it is only just over a page and said: “There is a major problem with this bill. This bill creates a defence that would defeat its own purpose.”Really the question that we asked at the Committee stage which was never answered was: how could a fundamental mistake of that nature be made? The Legislation Advisory Committee also raised concerns that this legislation might not capture the masterminds of match fixing because the actual manipulation of the overall result is an essential element of the offence. So there were some concerns with the apparent rush in drafting but there were also concerns of this nature and these were spelt out in the regulatory impact statement. It said that because the Cricket World Cup is being held in February next year “This objective imposes constraints on the range of legislative options that can be considered. Requiring a Bill to be passed by the end of 2014”—and we are right at the tail-end of it now—“means creating comprehensive stand-alone and potentially complex match-fixing legislation is impractical.” We cannot have that the regulatory impact statement says because of “significant time constraints”.The other question we asked at the select committee was: when we have known for 9 years that we are hosting this competition how could there possibly have been significant time constraints? Are we dealing with a bill that is a second-rate bill that does not do the whole job as the Government’s own regulatory impact statement suggests because the Government left its run too late? If the Government left it too late why? This Government has had 6 years to address the problem and has not done so.The concerns that we have are that there is clear evidence that global criminal activity concerning corrupt sports betting is increasing. It is increasing particularly because of the growth of online betting. Interpol suggests that fraudulent sports betting actually generates about—and this figure will surprise you—US$140 billion in turnover in a year. Let me repeat that. It is US$140 billion generated by fraudulent sports betting.Unfortunately one of the codes where match fixing is quite common is of course cricket. We have had our own experience of that with our own cricket players being allegedly involved in it and we have seen it across the Tasman in Australia. When you look at the risk assessments it shows that Australasia because the cricket matches are being held on both sides of the Tasman is at risk from international crime syndicates looking at expanding their current operations in Asia India and Europe. The Australian Crime Commission’s February 2013 report on organised crime and drugs in sport highlighted the links between Australian sport and organised crime including match-fixing risks.Again I have this problem with the bill and the Government’s comments on it. The Government said that having a really short bill is proportionate to the risk. On the one hand the Government tells us that this is a crime that generates US$140 billion a year and then it says it cannot do it comprehensively; it can just do a short bill. And then the Government says this short bill which is not comprehensive is proportionate to the risk. Something does not add up in that explanation. It really does not add up.The other concern I have is that passing legislation to stop match fixing and creating a criminal penalty for it—yes I agree that needs to be done. But it is not the whole picture. Clearly what we need is a sporting code of conduct and we need a sporting code of conduct in each of the major sporting areas that is mutually consistent and that is consistent with this legislation. But regrettably at the select committee we never heard from the sporting organisations. We did not get a clear picture of whether these codes of conduct are adequate and will be in place and will do the job.I remember that one of the comments that was made at the select committee was that more effective than a criminal code would be a lifetime ban by sporting bodies in terms of disincentivising match fixing. I would like to be certain and I would like assurance that these codes of conduct will be in place will be consistent with this legislation and will be sufficiently effective.Having said that we do need a piece of legislation that makes a specific offence called match fixing under the Crimes Act. We need everybody in New Zealand to know that it is a crime to rig a match for the purpose of making money. That is why Labour has been cooperative in helping pass this bill. But I reiterate that it is not good enough if you have had years and years to prepare for that and the Government’s own agency said it could not look at doing something comprehensively because of time constraints. That is not a justifiable reason for a bill that probably in a perfect world might have been more comprehensive and gone further.