Peters Winston: Gambling Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Peters Winston: Gambling Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
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Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 I was fascinated by the brevity of the speech made by the Minister who moved the second reading today because it brought to mind a recent announcement made by this Government about spending well over $40 million on problem gamblers. It was a press statement put out by one Damien O’Conner where he claimed alongside his bureaucrats that this bill was a world first. Well I remind the House and the country just who it was that brought the problem of gambling into stark reality for New Zealand and what we are dealing with now. Because all around this country we have huge problems with gambling particularly in the Maori community particularly in the Asian community and amongst people who can least afford it with disastrous results. 
New Zealand First did not support the Gambling Act of 2003 which was an attempt by this Government as John Tamihere would say with its bureaucrats working night and day with nothing else to do—no soccer on Saturday to watch or Sundays to spend with families—to ensure that the profits from gambling went out of local communities and straight into some centralised bureaucratic disbursement regime— 
Hon Damien O'Connor 
: No. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Oh yes they did and that is why every hotel around New Zealand opposed that legislation. The Labour Party can make these sorts of grand promises that it is dealing— 
Hon Damien O'Connor 
: No. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: No no. This bill actually improves upon that and that is why we are supporting it. But it simply is the case of ignoring some of the realities. 
What we have in New Zealand today of course is that the people who are bleeding with the gambling problems are spending money in localities where even the profits from gambling do not go towards the community in which they live. That is a fact. Damien O’Connor can shake his head but the reality is that the Government decided to take full control off the local distribution agencies and claim that the local people could not be trusted and central government could. That is as blunt as it got. 
Hon Damien O'Connor 
: No. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Yes the Government did. More seriously though we got this: a disastrous failure to acknowledge what a disaster so much gambling is in this country. Then to claim a “world first” as some sort of innovative enlightened Government is the worst and what one might call the “H” offence. I cannot use the word but members will know what I mean. It is the very worst. 
New Zealand First has always been opposed to this and we want to remind New Zealanders who it was that changed the gambling society of this country—for the very worst. Can the House remember one Peter Tapsell when he was Minister? He brought in casino licensing in this country and then of course against huge objections all around New Zealand the Government imposed it upon Queenstown— 
David Parker 
: Twice! 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: —twice upon Queenstown—and then upon the people of Hamilton even though the mass majority of the local people were against it. The Government ignored all that. I remind the National Party that it was as responsible for that as well because it had members on that authority one of whom was challenged as to his behaviour—a former member of Parliament whose name I should not mention because it is just part of the sad history of the National Party. 
David Parker 
: Judith Collins was the chair too. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: That is right. That is a fact. But how quickly they forget! Well New Zealand First wants to say that at least this bill gives back some local control but it does not address the serious problem that should be addressed in this legislation as to what we are going to do with a society that Labour turned upside down and a society in which the very roots of that society that claimed once to be Labour supporters and that Labour once claimed to represent have been significantly—in the case of so many families and individuals—destroyed. I want to know which Minister opposite will get up and start talking about that as a key issue and do something about it. 
It is very very serious that we have in New Zealand today certain families whose lives have been destroyed—not just limited. [ 
Interruption 
] My colleague Brian Donnelly tells me that in the early days of the New Zealand First - National coalition Government we brought down a moratorium on new casinos so the issue could be resolved. That is what I call a responsible party. That is what I call an enlightened party that acknowledges the difficulties and unlike those who signed one and a half pages of “motherhood and apple pie” by way of an agreement we demanded things and got them done. 
Darren Hughes 
: Mrs Shipley claimed credit for it. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: I know that Mrs Shipley— 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: Jack Elder put it through. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Jack Elder put it through as a Minister for New Zealand First and Mrs Shipley made many claims. That is why she is not here any more. She was of the reasons why the National Party is in the parlous state it is today and why after her little stint as Prime Minister she took the National Party to the worst vote it ever had since 1936 and its formation. 
But Labour is no different. The Labour Party and the National Party are no different on this issue. They believe in all sorts of gambling. Why they would have people betting on two flies going up a wall if they could. If that could be organised and they could get a tax cut and start getting their hands on the disbursement of the money and paying it out to all their pet little causes they would. 
Dianne Yates 
: No we can’t do that. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: I tell that member from Hamilton that all sorts of things are being done in the name of the gambling industry today. All sorts of favourite projects are being funded—some of the most weird we would ever see—whilst people out there the families and kids are starving and going bankrupt because of problem gambling encouraged by this administration. 
So how about the next Labour speaker getting up and acknowledging that because I know there are Maori members over there who know what I am talking about. They know what an abject disaster the industry is for Maoridom and the sooner we do something about that the better. 
Dianne Yates 
: I opposed the casino. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: The member said she opposed the casino but how worthy is that when she supported the casino legislation? She is a member whose left hand does not know what her right hand is doing. She could not wait to line up and stand for the Labour Party that brought casino legislation into this country. That legislation is working like a giant vacuum just sucking hundreds of millions of dollars out of Auckland killing the culture killing the society and killing all sorts of leisure activities. 
Government Member 
: No it’s not. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Yes it is. If we asked any restaurateur or bar owner in Auckland about what is happening to the leisure dollar he or she would tell us that the casino has had a profound effect. Is the money being spent in New Zealand? No. All the profits are being siphoned off overseas in the case of Auckland—and somehow the Labour Party thinks that is good. But then again for people who have sold $10 billion worth of State assets anything would be a worthy prescription for their behaviour. 
Anyway I was listening to this debate and thought I should come down to the House to remind a few people about who is guilty about who did what and about where and when. One party in this country is opposed to this sort of gambling because it is without merit without employment and without culture. It is the most base thing for somebody walking into a casino to say: “Here’s all my money. I hope I get a little bit back.” What industry in the whole world do members know of where people can walk into an establishment and say: “Here’s all my hard-earned savings. Whether or not my wife and kids can afford it I don’t care. But just in case I would like to know whether I can win a little bit back.” 
Dianne Yates 
: What about the horses? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Do not talk about the horses. I will tell the member about the horses. The horses could be one of New Zealand’s most explosive export industries. The horse industry employs 32000 people in real jobs. 
Dianne Yates 
: What about the TAB? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: The TAB is part of the horse industry. At least there is employment. At least there are exports. At least there is an international reputation. That industry does have some redeeming features but the industry that the member supports and that the Government is so pleased to support is in every way thoroughly bad for New Zealand.