Kaye NikkiHon NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central): Look I am pleased to take a call on this third reading of the Racing Reform Bill. The first thing that I just want to acknowledge before that member Kieran McAnulty potentially leaves the House is that absolutely National is supporting this bill but with a range of concerns that are legitimate that we have every right in this House to raise. We have been absolutely consistent that we are a party that support not only improving the viability of the racing industry but also we care about the thousands and thousands of coaches in New Zealand sporting organisations from rugby to cricket to netball who will be impacted by this bill.I also want to quote and acknowledge a few people at the outset. I want to acknowledge the Rt Hon Winston Peters. He has heralded this bill through. It will lead to greater viability for the racing industry but also there is a potential for additional funds for sport. No one is disagreeing with that. The question is: how do we ensure that we get the fairness and distribution right for our sporting codes in New Zealand?I want to acknowledge Ian McKelvie. He is a very wise individual whom I have sought counsel from during this bill and I want to acknowledge him and other members of the Transport and Infrastructure Committee: Tim van de Molen Alastair Scott and also the Hon David Bennett. Can I acknowledge David for his outstanding advocacy of the racing industry. However I want to run through the bill for absolute clarity because I've been engaging with organisations like New Zealand Rugby New Zealand Cricket and netball about National's concerns as our sporting and recreation spokesperson.The first thing is that the transitional agency that we're setting up does matter. We do care on this side of the House about adequate representation. At the heart of that we have raised serious issues about the process. It's been a truncated select committee process—around five days for submissions. That was totally unreasonable and it was not called for. We understand that the Minister has had a large time period since the Messara review. It would have been prudent even to give weeks extra for the process. You know what? It's not just us who think that; it's the submitters that have raised that but it's also the Minister himself in the Cabinet paper that he wrote. He put a different time line that would have seen—if it had gone to plan—weeks more for people to have their say and to have adequate scrutiny of public policy.The next issue that we raise again is an issue that has been raised by many of the submitters—this wide amount of power. They've called the Rt Hon Winston Peters the Kingmaker" with regard to sport. I think it is really important that we have acknowledged that the National Party support a range of mechanisms to curb that power. One of them was to acknowledge this issue of representation where we said we want to have greater guarantees in terms of this balance around sport and racing.The next is around the distribution for the codes. Again we did put up legislation previously where we said "Look we think there is a balance here to be had." We do agree that we could have greater flexibility in the formula but we absolutely said publicly—and that's why I went out there with our very serious concerns—that we needed a guarantee from the Minister for Sport and Recreation and the Minister for Racing that no sporting codes would lose as a result of this bill. Now the Minister for Sport and Recreation had been very silent and quiet with the national sporting organisations but also with the engagement with Sport New Zealand. I tried to get further information about this. It was good to see the Minister for Sport and Recreation finally fronting up and saying "Look no sporting organisation will lose as a result of this bill." Great we've had that. But actually what we have argued for is to have greater certainty in legislation that no sporting code would lose.The next point that we argued for is around this issue of fairness of distribution. We heard from the Remote Gambling Association. We heard from New Zealand Rugby from New Zealand Cricket from Netball New Zealand from Yachting New Zealand and from a whole lot of sporting organisations about this issue of the increase in the rise in sports betting. Now again this was a point of difference from Messara to some of the sporting organisations but also to organisations like the Remote Gambling Association who have said "Look we believe that the percentage of sports bets occurring by New Zealanders on overseas events could be at 95 percent." That is massive and it would have huge implications around fairness and distribution.So we are absolutely saying to the Minister who has said in this House in a prior speech before I got up "We want to make racing great again."—well I say to Winston Peters "How about we make sport and racing great?" That's what this side of the House believe in. Actually we believe in fairness and we believe that while there are important issues and viability of $1.6 billion of 18000 jobs we care about those jockeys we care about those stable hands we also care about the coaches of New Zealand and we care about the sporting organisations which is billions in revenue for New Zealand and also 35000 jobs.So we will be following this and I will be as National's sports and recreation spokesperson holding to the fire the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Sport and Recreation. That's why we're pleased with one of the amendments that happened in this bill which is to at least require the Minister for Racing to consult the Minister for Sport and Recreation on these matters. Now that doesn't guarantee agreement which was what was advocated for by some sporting organisations but it certainly puts pressure on these Ministers. Why is it important? Well I'll tell this House why it's important and I'll tell this House why I didn't appreciate the lecture that I got from Kieran McAnulty because I rose to speak. He talked about an Opposition that was divided. We have been entirely consistent. We're supporting this bill. We support the viability of both sport and racing but you know what we heard the other day? We had the Minister for Racing saying no to the answer that there would be additional fairness of distribution for the sporting codes. Then when I had the Minister Grant Robertson turn up to my select committee for me to grill him on matters of sport he said he will absolutely be advocating for greater distribution. So clearly if there was a journalist listening to this debate they could take the moment to ask these Ministers about the difference of opinion in terms of distribution.Finally can I raise a couple of other matters. We did hear some serious issues raised by the New Zealand Law Society and the Ministry of Justice around penalty provisions in this bill. I think they are issues that should be considered. I have raised issues which I would have expected to see the Greens have a much louder and larger voice on around the fact that this is a bill involving gambling. Where is the policy on harm minimisation? We have raised that in our minority report and we would have loved the Green Party to have supported that provision. But I'm hoping we'll hear from those members about the importance of harm minimisation as raised by the Salvation Army and other organisations: Transparency International.So can I conclude by saying this: I do genuinely want to acknowledge the Minister for Racing for the work that he's done around the Messara review but also this piece of legislation. I know—because I've received some communications from people in the racing industry—how important it is to get these additional funds; whether it's around the totalisator levy. However we will be absolutely firm and forceful about the need to have balance and fairness for the many hundreds of thousands of young people that play sport for all of those coaches out there for all of the national sporting organisations for organisations like Tennis New Zealand for which 40 percent of their revenue currently comes from the formula. That is our job as an Opposition party—a party that firmly believes in balance and firmly wants to make racing great again but also make sport great."