Peters WinstonRACING REFORM BILLSecond ReadingRt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Minister for Racing): Now for something serious and meaningful.Hon Shane Jones: In contrast.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: In contrast. I move That the Racing Reform Bill be now read a second time.When this bill was introduced it was acknowledged that racing in New Zealand has a long and proud history. Racing plays an important role in our communities and regions employing 14000 people and contributing $1.6 billion to New Zealand's economy in 2016-17. The submissions on this bill from a wide-ranging mix of interested parties confirmed just how important racing continues to be to the economic and social fabric of this country.However racing sad to say in New Zealand is in decline and economic and social benefits New Zealanders receive from it are at risk. This was confirmed by an Australian racing expert Mr John Messara in an independent assessment of the New Zealand racing industry. The Messara report commissioned by the Government provided recommendations for urgently needed reform. A ministerial advisory committee was subsequently appointed late last year to provide advice and guide the implementation of Messara's recommendations. This Government would like to thank the committee again for its work to date and particularly since they started on the fourth day of January when everybody else was on holiday to do their task.As said in the first reading this bill forms the Government's first legislative response to the recommendations of the Messara report. It's a first step in revitalising the industry to a financially viable future state. This bill amends the Racing Act 2003 and the Gaming Duties Act 1971. It reconstitutes the New Zealand Racing Board as the Racing Industry Transition Agency or RITA and RITA will manage the transition and day-to-day operations of the industry for a limited period. It also introduces two offshore charges: an information use charge and a point of consumption charge. This charge and these changes ensure that overseas betting operators start to contribute to New Zealand including to the racing and sports codes from which they benefit.This bill will allow betting on sports not currently represented by a qualifying domestic national sporting organisation and will place the formula for calculating payments to racing codes and sporting organisations into regulations. The totalisator duty which is currently paid to the Crown will be phased out and these funds will instead be reinvested with the racing and sport sectors. A proportion of these funds will also be set aside for industry-led gambling harm minimisation initiatives.The Transport and Infrastructure Committee received submissions from 42 submitters and the vast majority expressed general support for this bill. The members of that committee including the chair Mr Darroch Ball officials and submitters have all helped to strengthen this bill. The committee has unanimously reported the bill back to the House with some proposed amendments most of which were of a minor nature or a simple drafting change.All of these recommendations are well considered. For example this bill as introduced allows for regulations to be made that determine the distribution of betting profits to racing and sports. Might I say that that regime was the one we inherited from the previous Government although it seems to have evoked certain comments from members of the previous Government which would seem to not understand that they with respect to those aspects were the architects of them. So if there were defects in what they drafted then it's quite possible we can fix these defects up now as we go to the committee of the whole House.The committee has recommended including an explicit requirement for the Minister for Racing to consult with the Minister of Sport and Recreation before recommending these regulations. That recommendation is new. In short the Minister for Racing will be required to consult with the Minister for Sport and Recreation before recommending these regulations. Whilst this consultation would have occurred anyway making the step explicit reflects the increasing significance of the sport sector as both a stakeholder and contributor to betting in New Zealand. The intention of the transitional provisions of this bill is that the reform process will be completed within 12 months. However like any change process this is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. To cater for the event that the transition needs to be extended beyond 30 June 2020 the bill provides for an Order in Council to extend the transition period. After consideration the committee has rightly recommended limiting this extension provision to a date no later than 30 June 2022. This extension provision is merely a contingency. This Government is committed to reforming this industry as quickly as possible. Indeed that is why this bill needs to be enacted this financial year.The officials supporting this bill have suggested some further amendments also minor in nature that were identified after the departmental report to the select committee. These will be addressed by the Government through a Supplementary Order Paper at the committee of the whole House stage. The main purpose of this Supplementary Order Paper will be to make some minor changes to ensure that betting use information agreements currently enforced or under negotiation can smoothly transition into the new offshore charges regime as is the policy intent of the bill.The Government intends to introduce a second bill later this year. This will build upon these additional reforms by establishing the future governance structure for New Zealand racing and implement the other agreed recommendations from the Messara report. In conclusion it's important that we see that this bill is on track to implement these urgently required reforms. This bill is an important stepping stone towards a better future for the racing industry in New Zealand. It will also be the kind of response that was first asked for in a report by Judge Thaddeus McCarthy as long ago as 1967 a period which a member of the Opposition will remember well he being from a bucolic equine background dare I say it on the outskirts of the Manawatū—no names are given in that respect. But this is a serious piece of legislation which has been definitely needed by a once-great industry which has been faltering of late. We in Parliament need to respond to it not just for the people engaged in the industry as owners breeders and investors but because thousands and thousands of young New Zealanders of all backgrounds desire to be engaged in this industry for their employment. Their energy and drive will take this industry on to great things in the future not just in respect to the contribution to the GDP to this country which if it was in equivalence with Ireland would be now $3.2 billion. So we've got a long way to go we've got short time to make it up but make it up we will. Then our potential to treble the exports of our bloodstock in other parts of the industry offshore become an enormous possibility as we speak. Accordingly I commend this bill to the House.