Parker David: Major Events Management Bill — First Reading 
Parker David: Major Events Management Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:637;Page:7494] 
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Energy) 
 on behalf of the 
 Minister for Sport and Recreation 
: I move  
That the Major Events Management Bill be now read a first time. 
 At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be considered by the Commerce Committee and that the committee report finally to the House on or before 15 June 2007. 
This bill results from New Zealand’s successful bids to host the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and to co-host the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup in 2015 both of which included a commitment to ensure that adequate provisions are in place to prevent ambush marketing. This type of legislation is now a reality for hosting major events. The financial investment made in major events by organisers and sponsors is such that it is now common practice for the organisers of those events to require appropriate ambush marketing protections to be implemented as part of the hosting agreement. Free riding of that investment by companies not associated with the event is damaging not just for the official organisers and sponsors but also to the credibility of the event itself and the country hosting it. Legislation containing ambush marketing protections has been introduced in other jurisdictions including those in the United Kingdom Australia South Africa and the Caribbean. 
The bill is a piece of generic legislation that will apply to major events of all kinds sporting and otherwise as long as they meet the criteria set out in the bill. It is crucial for New Zealand to be seen as a viable host country for major events of international significance. The Government is interested in submissions about whether events other than sporting events could meet the criteria and if not whether the bill should be narrowed accordingly. It is important that this type of protection is available only for truly major events of international significance. It must be acknowledged that it places a limitation on business practice and commercial speech and to apply it too widely would be to cause more problems than it solves. So the bill is based on the basic premise that the protection of those events should be for the overall benefit of New Zealand. 
The bill sets out a number of criteria that determine whether an event should be declared to be a major event and attract the protections contained in the legislation. They include things such as whether the event raises New Zealand’s international profile generates significant tourism opportunities and offers significant sporting cultural social and economic benefits. Event organisers will need to apply to the Minister for Economic Development for major event status and the Minister will be required to take all those criteria into account. The event organisers will also need to satisfy the Minister that they will use all practicable measures available under the existing law to prevent the unauthorised commercial exploitation of a major event. Those will include for example protecting their intellectual property through registering their trademarks. Once a major event has been declared the Minister will also be able to declare certain words and emblems to be the major event’s words and emblems. That will mean that they can be protected under the provisions of the legislation. 
Two types of activity are regulated by the legislation. The first is ambush marketing by association. That is aimed at businesses who are not the official sponsor but who try to create some kind of association between themselves and the event. In essence they are seeking to unfairly trade off the goodwill and reputation surrounding an event without making the significant financial commitment that official sponsors make. Clearly that type of free-riding activity could discourage potential sponsors from investing in an event. The legislation puts in place prohibitions against that type of activity during the period of protection specified by the Minister whether the activity is done explicitly or by more subtle means. That includes the use of tickets for promotional purposes without the authorisation of the event organiser. 
Another major form of ambush marketing is ambush marketing by intrusion. That refers to the practice of unfairly intruding on the attention of spectators who are essentially gathered solely for the purpose of the major event. In essence they are a captive audience. The legislation prevents those who are not authorised by the event organisers from displaying advertising in the area around a major event venue or in some circumstances if it is visible from the major events venue. It also prevents unauthorised advertising from being visible when approaching the venue. The Government is not wedded to the detail of the boundary around the venue and I expect that will be the subject of debate at the select committee. 
It is important to recognise though that this type of legislation could unfairly restrict honest practice. Plenty of businesses go about activities on a day-to-day basis that we do not want to fall foul of this legislation. Freedom of speech including commercial freedom of speech is crucial in a fair and democratic society so the bill has many safeguards for honest business practice and existing right-holders. If any activity forms part of a business’ honest everyday activities it will be able to continue the activity regardless of the legislation. The legislation will not override the rights of existing trademark holders or prevent a person from using his or her own name or address in trade. Clearly this legislation would not fulfil its aim of promoting the interests of New Zealand if it went too far or was too far-reaching. All those issues have been given consideration during the drafting of the bill. 
As I have already said the use of tickets is incorporated into the ambush marketing provisions. The bill also prohibits the on-sale of tickets at above their face value. As recent events show those who buy up tickets and then seek to sell them at an unfair profit have deprived many Kiwi sports fans of the opportunity to attend big events. Obviously if a consumer buys a ticket to an event and for some reason cannot attend we do not want to prevent that person from selling his or her ticket or recouping his or her costs. It is not fair however when people knowingly buy up batches of tickets for the sole purpose of selling them at sometimes substantially inflated prices well beyond the means of many New Zealanders. 
In conclusion this bill is an important step in ensuring that New Zealand is seen as a viable host country for major events of international significance. The role of those events in attracting international visitors and raising New Zealand’s international profile has obvious benefits for all New Zealanders. In addition to the Rugby World Cup in 2011 and the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup in 2015 New Zealand will also host the World Rowing Championships in 2010 and the Under-17 Women’s Football World Cup in 2008. New Zealand is of course challenging for the America’s Cup in Valencia in 2007 and if that challenge is successful the America’s Cup will be held in New Zealand again in 2010-11. This bill places New Zealand well to successfully bring those events and many others to the world. The bill represents the best effort to get a balance between the competing interests that will be affected by the legislation. Different approaches can be taken on many areas in the bill. I encourage all New Zealanders individuals and businesses to make their submission during the select committee process so that we can end up with the fairest and most effective piece of legislation that we can.