Flavell Te Ururoa: Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFlavell Te Ururoa: Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 04 September 2013. Volume:693;Page:13258. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]TE URUROA FLAVELL (Co-Leader—Māori Party):Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker.Malo elelei. I moveThat the Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. I stand today to speak to the third reading of the Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill. This bill has some history that has got us to this point so let me outline very quickly how we got here.It is exactly 3 years ago that this bill was introduced. By the time of the general election in 2011 however there was still no sign of the first reading in sight. It was for that reason that the Māori Party specifically negotiated in its relationship accord agreement with National that the bill would enjoy the support of the Government through at least to the select committee. Five months into the new term of Government the first reading occurred.I said at the time that the bill marks a step towards advancing our kaupapa of empowering communities to have a greater say about what happens in this area. Today that statement remains true for me. This bill was always motivated by our campaign against social hazards. I want to acknowledge two women in particular who have influenced my thinking in this regard. The first is the late Maureen Te RereiWahoWaaka ofTūwharetoa and Te Arawa descent who passed away just 3 months ago. Maureen was a champion of the problem gambling kaupapa and was instrumental in speaking out about access to casinos gaming machines and liquor outlets. The secondwahinetoa is Dr LornaDyall who has led our thinking in reframing gambling from being considered a normal recreational activity to one that is a social hazard. Just as noxious weeds or pests create havoc in our natural environment gambling creates harm within familieswhānau and communities and can cause significant health and social problems.For the record here is the state of the nation: between 10000 and 60000 adults or 0.3 percent to 1.8 percent have a gambling problem in Aotearoa. The New Zealand Health Survey showed that 3 percent of adults—that is about 130000 people—have experienced problems in the previous 12 months due to someone gambling and 10000 New Zealanders have engaged in illegal activities because of their gambling. Every day$5.2 million is lost to gambling—$5.2 million every day. This is far more serious than a chance win in a lottery.Interestingly the whole way in which we talk about gambling activities is so often falsely painted as a story of prosperity. “Lady Luck is smiling on you.” some would say or “It is your lucky day.” If things are going well we are tempted to buy a Lotto ticket to capitalise on our good fortune but in doing so we willingly place emphasis on the whim of the wheel of fortune to determine our future rather than taking control and shaping our future based on hard work and perseverance.And yet the reality of problem gambling harm in our families is significant. The Child Poverty Action Group summed this up by saying: “Sadly it is usually the most vulnerable children who pay the price of the recent proliferation of these hazards in low-income communities. If children are to be protected from their effects the government must make greater efforts to support families and communities and reduce access to legal and illegal social hazards including gambling tobacco alcohol and high-priced debt.”So let me come back to the purpose of my bill and what I think we have achieved. I want to be clear that the bill was never about being anti-gambling—its focus was on gambling harm. In that respect I am conscious that pokie machines are six times more likely to be in poor areas than in wealthy areas and within that about a third of moderate-risk gamblers are Māori. In effect we are talking about a system in which there is a wealth transfer from poor communities to well-off communities. It was for that reason that I sought to phase out the corporate societies that distribute pokie earnings and ensure that 80 percent of gambling proceeds return to the communities where the money was lost. My basic premise was that the system incentivises the exploitation of gambling addiction.During the passage of this bill submissions and public releases alike revealed that the system is rife with corruption and the misuse of public money. The Department of Internal Affairs confirmed that in its 2012 review of venue cost schedules which revealed that approximately 750 venue submissions could not yet be approved because societies had not provided explanations or evidence in support of claims that costs appeared high.How does this revised bill address these issues? I truly believe that the bill takes steps towards minimising the harm done to communities by gambling. The provisions around local distribution and harm minimisation technology are still in the bill only the mechanism is a little bit different. I am absolutely determined to keep pushing for the use of the regulation-making power to introduce harm minimisation devices. A regulation-making power is easier to use easier to update and enables a consistent policy to be introduced nationwide.The bill will also enable gambling venues to transfer out of low socio-economic areas and into areas where communities want them to move. Councils as a result of my bill will now have more tools to enable the transfer of gaming venues into other areas and I am confident that this will enable councils to further reduce the number of gaming venues. More than anything else however my focus is on eliminating and ridding our communities of gambling-related harm and so my approach in this bill was on the basis that other more wide-ranging reform would be announced. One of my ancestors Thomas A Edison once said: “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” That has been the approach with this particular bill.The bill has been an enormous journey. It has attracted a massive 29438 form submissions and 4944 unique submissions and supplementary information. The Commerce Committee heard 159 submissions. The bill it is fair to say has generated afair bit of furious debate at hui in the council chambers in homes and indeed in this House. Does it do what I set out to do from the very beginning? Well we were utterly unsuccessful in our bid to remove the special status of the racing industry as a recipient for the purpose of racing stakes but was the conversation an important one to initiate? I believe so. Did we achieve the magic 80 percent return? No. But the Government does support the idea of a minimum percentage of proceeds being returned to the area where they were raised and that is an important philosophical discussion to have it inspire.There is plenty more work to do. We are pleased that this member’s bill the first Māori Party member’s bill to be passed into law has generated a comprehensive package of law reform. This includes increasing the percentage of funding that goes back to the community introducing harm minimisation devices through regulation and giving councils more tools to shift venues out of low socio-economic areas. It has been a long struggle to achieve what we have but we have never taken the focus off the best interests of the people. We have appreciated the cooperation of the Minister of Internal Affairs the Hon Chris Tremain and the efforts of the members of the Commerce Committee who all gave up so much time and commitment towards giving this bill their full consideration. I thank them all. Ka nui te mihi.But most of all I want to thank those who wrote in those who appeared before the select committee those who went on talkback radio those who initiated the “People Before Pokies” campaign and those who cared. Can I also thank Graeme Ramsey of the Problem Gambling Foundation for his advice. We might not have got to the place where he wanted but their work must be acknowledged. I also thank Māori Party staff—in particularHaimona Gardiner—for the work that they all did to give support to me.We will not give up on the vital mission that we have before us to continue to do all that we can to prevent problem gambling harm from infesting our families and ourwhānau and destroying our communities. I commend this bill to the House.