Mallard Trevor: Major Events Management Bill — Third Reading 
Mallard Trevor: Major Events Management Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:641;Page:11441] 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister for Economic Development) 
: 
 I move  
That the Major Events Management Bill be now read a third time 
. The bill provides protection from ambush marketing and certain other issues associated with the running of major events. The presence of such legislative protections will position New Zealand as an attractive destination to host major events. It will enable ordinary New Zealanders to take advantage of the many benefits— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I am sorry to interrupt the member but would members leaving the Chamber please show some courtesy to the member who is addressing it. Courtesy is contagious. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: What are you saying Mr Assistant Speaker! What are you saying! 
This bill provides for a clear predictable and fair regime for dealing with ambush marketing behaviour and related major issues such as ticket scalping and crowd behaviour. It accords with the broader Government objectives of maximising the return to New Zealand from Government involvement in major events and positioning this country as a highly competitive and desirable destination for hosting major events. 
New Zealand will host a number of internationally significant events in the near future that will attract large international audiences and will result in valuable exposure for New Zealand on the world stage. These events include the Rugby World Cup in 2011 the World Rowing Championships in 2010 and the Under-17 Women’s Football World Cup in 2008 and we will also co-host the Cricket World Cup in 2015. Such events attract very large audiences and organisations will pay significant sums to become official sponsors. 
Ambush marketing is a term used to describe the actions of organisations that have not paid for the rights to be official sponsors of an event but seek to capture the benefits of perceived association with a major event without the authorisation of the event’s organisers. Many major sponsors in order to safeguard the return from their investment in major events now insist that there be protection against ambush marketing before they commit to sponsorship contracts. Only events that are of truly international significance will be protected under the bill. The legislation will not apply for example to annual or regular events or to events that New Zealand hosts as of right. The declaration of a major event will also specify the keywords and emblems associated with the event and the period of time for which the ambush marketing protections will apply. 
There are two main protections against ambush marketing in the bill. Firstly there is a prohibition on any unauthorised representation that would suggest to a reasonable person that any good service or brand is associated with a major event. This prohibition will prevent the use of representations by non-sponsor organisations that seek to unfairly benefit from the publicity and goodwill associated with a major event. The prohibition against unauthorised association is subject to a number of safeguards and exceptions which will ensure that it will not interfere with existing ordinary fair business practices. The second form of ambush marketing protection in the bill is the provision for the declaration of clean zones clean transport routes and clean periods. These measures will prevent ambush marketing by intrusion where an ambush marketer seeks to intrude on the attention of spectators and television audiences for a major event. 
The bill also bans ticket scalping which is the on-sale of major events tickets for a price greater than the original sale price. Ticket scalping can dramatically increase the price of tickets and can potentially put attendance at major events further out of the reach of many New Zealanders. Also banned under the legislation are pitch invasion and unruly crowd behaviour such as bottle throwing. This kind of behaviour can disrupt international sporting events and can create the potential for injury to participants security personnel and even pitch invaders themselves. It can also result in adverse media coverage and can cause international sanctions to be applied to sporting organisations or to venues. This behaviour will be punishable by a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 months which is currently the penalty for disorderly behaviour or by a fine not exceeding $5000. 
I thank the people involved with the bill especially the people from the Ministry of Economic Development people from Sport and Recreation New Zealand parliamentary counsel people in my office who have taken a leadership role and members of the Commerce Committee who I think it is generally agreed made small but significant improvements to the bill. This bill is an important step in ensuring that New Zealand continues to be seen as a viable and attractive host country for major events of international significance. The presence of such events raises our international profile and the consequent economic opportunities mean that such events have obvious and real benefits for New Zealand businesses and the public at large. Thank you.