Ardern Shane: Sports Anti-Doping Bill — In Committee 
Ardern Shane: Sports Anti-Doping Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:634;Page:6137] 
SHANE ARDERN (National—Taranaki-King Country) 
: 
 It is a rare occasion when one can stand in this Parliament and find total support for legislation from all parties in the Chamber. So to some extent this is something that is quite good to be involved in. Doping is fundamentally contrary to the spirit of sport and it puts at risk the ethical principles and educational values combined in the International Charter of Physical Education and Sport of Unesco. For that reason the National Party is very much in support of this legislation. The anti-doping programmes therefore seek to preserve what is intrinsically valuable about sport which is characterised by values such as honesty ethics fairness health respect courage commitment and solidarity. It is not often that one can find all those words strung together in one bill. It is just a pity that one or two of the political parties in this Parliament could not exercise what is being attempted in this legislation. 
The code that seeks to harmonise international efforts to address doping in sport was finalised at the World Conference on Doping in Sport which was held in Copenhagen from 3 to 5 March 2003. Clearly that was a good position to take. I understand the Minister in the chair the Hon Trevor Mallard might have been somewhere near there at the time so he is to be congratulated on taking us to that position. 
It is heartening to see that this Government which is not well known for this characteristic has decided not to introduce charges when it comes to Customs Service checks at the border and other checks where charges take place. When we think about other border control measures put in place by this Government it has introduced charges on a scale that we have never seen before. I am pleased the Government chose not to do that in this case. The sharing of information or evidence by the New Zealand Police the Customs Service and others is eminently sensible. So those who drafted the legislation and of course the very good Government Administration Committee that looked at it condoned all those measures. 
Darren Hughes 
: Who chairs that committee? 
SHANE ARDERN 
: That committee is very ably chaired and I welcome interjections from my “Nigerian” brother across the Chamber and suggest that some of the measures brought before the committee had all the aroma flavour and taste of—what was it? 
Darren Hughes 
: Nigerian cowhead stew. 
SHANE ARDERN 
: Nigerian cowhead stew. Of course it would have had the same effect on one’s running ability if one had ingested it. I suggest that the Minister in the chair go back and look at some of the things that the select committee had to deal with. We really did tidy that up. 
Part 3 deals with the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand. Membership consists of at least five but no more than nine members. Each member is appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister for Sport and Recreation on the basis of his or her qualifications and ability to represent the sporting sector. That is very sensible as well and once again it is almost out of character for this Government to get so many things right. I am wondering what has happened to the Minister! Perhaps his hopes and aspirations for higher office were at the forefront of his mind therefore he did not give this bill his usual attention and thereby it did not get mucked about. I congratulate the Minister on achieving that goal. 
Around the world New Zealanders are known as a group of individuals who box above their weight and no more so than in sport. Our New Zealand All Blacks are the best in the world. They are world-famous. Our basketball players our netball players our golfers—you name it; we are the best. It is a great thing because it brings everybody together and is good for the health of the nation. I say to the Minister that anything that minimises the use of drugs in this regard has to be positive.