Woodhouse Michael: Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Woodhouse Michael: Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 04 April 2012. Volume:679;Page:1719. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) 
: 
 The National Party will be supporting this Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill at its first reading and referral to the select committee. It does so for two reasons. Firstly the support for the referral of this bill to the select committee is part of the National Party’s confidence and supply agreement with the Maori Party and I think this reflects very well the sorts of cooperative relationships that can not only be agreed on but also honoured in good coalition Governments. I contrast that with some of the agreements not met in the latter stages of the Labour Government including that with the United Future party. I think had the Hon Peter Dunne been here he would be nodding sagely at the recollection of an agreement made with him—in successive Parliaments—by the Labour Government over issues in respect of support for medical insurance. Not only was it not honoured by that Government but also by the time David Cunliffe became the Minister of Health he was not even aware of it. So I am very pleased to say that within 4 months of the agreement being reached this bill can have its first reading and be referred to the Commerce Committee where it will get I think a very fair hearing. Indeed I am quite confident that the committee will get plenty of submissions on the issue.  
The second reason the National Party will be supporting this bill at its first reading is that we share the very grave concerns that the Maori Party has and that the member introducing the bill Te Ururoa Flavell has about the effects that problem gambling has on society. The goal that this bill has is harm minimisation and I applaud those efforts. It is a continuation of the very active work that the Maori Party has been doing in respect of harm minimisation for its people. As the member mentioned I think the very best example of that over the last 3 years has been the excellent efforts by the Associate Minister of Health the Hon Tariana Turia to increase the excise on tobacco and to further denormalise tobacco in our lives. The statistics particularly around young Maori are extremely encouraging. I do hope that regardless of the future of this bill and that with the support of the Maori Party the Government can continue to reduce harm and the problems that gambling can cause for our society.  
I want to focus on a couple of issues in respect of the bill and in particular the focus that it has on racing and in particular racing stake money. The member Mr Flavell quite rightly points out that there is some pokie money that does go to support the racing industry. I think he used the words “special consideration” for that industry and I am not quite sure I would concur that the racing industry necessarily has special consideration. I have certainly received plenty of submissions in advance of the first reading of this bill from people who are involved in the industry in one way or another. I know that the Minister for Racing the Hon Nathan Guy has some concerns not only about what this bill could do to the racing industry and the estimated $6 million to $8 million a year that is provided for stakes but also about infrastructure development on courses right up and down the country. I think I would make two comments about that.  
Firstly the popular perception of the racing industry is of something that is extremely glamorous—the Ellerslies the Addingtons and the Wellington Cup day at Trentham where we get on our glad rags our hats our fascinators and out we go. The perception of the racing industry is that it is an elitist sport the sport of kings as they call it. But I think the reality is something different. From a very young age my annual summer holidays in Central Otago were always punctuated by a trip to usually the trots at the Omakau races about 40 kilometres east of Alexandra. It is a fantastic day out that I have continued with my own children not only there but also at the Cromwell races. I can tell you that there is not a fascinator to be seen anywhere on that racecourse. It is a terrific community day and one where I guess the racing is almost incidental to the social connection that is so very important to those communities. These events have over the last 20 years or so gone through something of a significant slump in terms of their support by numbers and the amount of financial support that is provided to them. Racing is by no means at that grassroots level an industry that meets the reality—it does not meet the perception—of the Ellerslies and the Trenthams.  
The second thing I would say about that is up until about 20 years ago indeed racing was probably the only sport one could bet on and the TAB was there—those smoky High Street agencies—for the sole purpose of betting on horses. Of course we know that that is quite different from the current-day reality where there are a number of sports a plethora of sports that one could bet on: rugby rugby league tennis cricket and so on. So if one separates the betting aspect of racing from the community and sporting aspect of racing one could argue and indeed many have that race day is a sport like going to the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin or the Westpac Stadium here in Wellington and that one could also bet on the outcome of the event. I think that is analogous—much more analogous these days than it was in times past.  
So I would question the description of the so-called special consideration of the racing industry. I am quite sure that because the racing industry is such a large employer in many parts of the country—some 50000 people earn a part-time or full-time income from the racing industry—we will hear many submissions from those involved in it and in other sporting codes for that matter. I am sure the Government will look forward to the submissions to and the deliberation by the committee on those issues.  
But I do want to emphasise that gambling is a very important issue. Some aspects of the bill I think are probably already able to be done but I think that is going to be for the Commerce Committee’s examination of the bill in terms of what provisions already exist for local communities to have more say over where those proceeds are spent which organisations can benefit from them and also the number of machines that are in local communities. I am no expert on this but I do think there are some provisions that already enable that. Although we are by no means anywhere near looking at the outcome of say Skycity’s proposal the Prime Minister did mention in answer to an oral question yesterday that notwithstanding that the number of pokie machines in Auckland has reduced I think he said from about 5100 to 4200—a nearly 20 percent reduction. So it is already going down; it is going down under the existing provisions that exist.  
That said I think there are many very worthy elements to this bill. I look forward to following the submission and deliberation process with interest. I am very pleased to say that National will support this bill at the first reading.