Beaumont Carol: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBeaumont Carol: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 12 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:14565. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CAROL BEAUMONT (Labour): Well this is the last chance for those across the House. This is it—the third reading of the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill. It is the last chance for members opposite to listen to their consciences. I understand a number of members opposite have concerns about gambling. Some of them have actually said quite explicitly that they are concerned about gambling harm. Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga for example talks about the scourge of gambling in his community. In the Asian community in the Pacific community in working-class households we know that there is harm. This bill will increase gambling harm. Labour is saying that it will certainly regulate to prevent gambling harm. Colleagues across this side of the House are extremely concerned about the communities that will be affected by gambling harm as a result of this dodgy deal.This bill and the agreement that it seeks to implement are inconsistent with the widely agreed and well-established objectives of harm minimisation in the Gambling Act. Furthermore it is also inconsistent with the established sinking-lid policy of the Auckland Council which has actually reduced the number of pokie machines. One of the contributions I recall during the passage of this bill was a member opposite standing up and saying “Oh no you know the number of pokie machines has decreased under this Government.” Well it was nothing to do with the Government’s action. It was everything to do with the Auckland Council’s sinking-lid policy. So we know that the deal itself introduces a huge number of additional gaming tables and electronic gaming machines and a whole range of new and increased opportunities for gambling harm.Harmful gambling has major costs. Obvious and immediate to people is the loss of the money that they gamble away but that then leads to other consequences. It leads in some cases to the loss of their homes to family breakdowns and in some cases to suicides and murders. It also increases the ability of dodgy lenders to target people. I know well from my own experience in talking to people about loan sharks of the involvement of people like that in targeting problem gamblers and providing them with further money for them to gamble away. In some cases that is absolutely criminal activity. I spoke to one man who had actually been held against his will had his passport taken been physically harmed and had threats made against his family because of debts that he had racked up because he was a problem gambler at Skycity.This will just increase that. In doing that this bill provides the opportunity for the casino to continue to have licence renewals through until 2036 and removes the Gambling Commission from that process and thereby cancels the requirement to consider an independent casino impact report in each of those years. Supposedly and listening to some of the speakers this afternoon this is about the economic benefits ofthis deal—that this international convention centre is worth this harm. Well actually a lot of us have got a lot of questions about this process.Certainly there was no transparent evaluation process for this so-called economic development initiative. There was no competitive bidding process because it was a shonky deal done by members opposite starting from the Prime Minister and through to some of his other senior colleagues. There were others. I remember my colleague Jacinda Ardern speaking—I think it was in the Committee stage—about the number of other players who were interested in promoting a convention centre.Nobody across here is necessarily concerned about the idea of a convention centre for Auckland if the numbers stack up. But it should have been a level playing field for people to bid for that and it was not because this was a shonky deal that was done. Even Treasury expressed strong concerns about the figures that were used and that private benefits to Skycity will exceed public benefits to New Zealanders. Certainly Ministers have undervalued the worth of additional pokie machines gaming tables and the 27-year extension to the exclusive licence given to Skycity. At the same time of course there has also been a decline in the number of international arrivals for conferences. So we are concerned also about the numbers.