Wall Louisa: Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWall Louisa: Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 30 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19764. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]LOUISA WALL (Labour - Manurewa):Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Can I begin by congratulating you on what was a wonderful valedictory speech last night along with the other members in the House who gave their valedictory speeches as well. As a colleague from the adjoining electorate of Manurewa I want to pay tribute to the work you have done in South Auckland and the work that you will continue to do. Thank you very much for the way in which you have helped me in terms of understanding the processes in the House. I certainly wish you all the best for the future.I also want to begin by congratulating our Commonwealth Games team. We got our 12th gold medal this morning. Congratulations Val Adams. It is the 600th medal that New Zealand has won in the Commonwealth Games. I think as a country we are certainly a superpower within the domain of sport which is why this Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill is so important. I too want to wish the Black Ferns all the best. If they win in France that is five world championships in a row. I think it is a pretty outstanding achievement. Maybe they will be a finalist in the Steinlager Rugby Awards this year if they achieve that feat. They have never been a finalist and this could be an opportunity for the New Zealand Rugby Union to acknowledge them.Hon Trevor Mallard: It’s their time to win.LOUISA WALL: Maybe this will be the pinnacle for them—that is correct Mr Mallard.Labour does support the bill and as Labour’s associate spokesperson on sport and recreation I am going to highlight a few points about why this bill is really important. This bill will criminalise core match-fixing behaviour. The regulatory impact statement says the focus on core match-fixing is for several reasons the first of which is that “core match-fixing behaviour presents the biggest risk to the integrity growth and development of New Zealand sport.” Sport in New Zealand contributes over $5 billion to our economy and I think what we have seen this week is that in addition to that economic benefit it also contributes to our sense of identity our sense of pride and actually our place in the world. The reality of this bill is that if anything is going to challenge or inhibit or interfere with sport and the place it has in terms of our society then we must do all that we can.The context of sports betting in New Zealand is interesting. The Department of Internal Affairs website says the 2012-13 statistics show that gambling in New Zealand is a $2.1 billion industry. In terms of specific TAB sports betting it totals $294 million. That is a lot of money and I can see why some people would be interested in putting some of that money in their pockets by doing things that are completely contrary to what sport is all about. Having been a sportsperson myself I say that sport provides the opportunity to set goals and to work hard; to invest time effort energy and family and community support to achieve a gold medal or a personal best. That is actually what sport is all about. The contribution of sport to our society in terms of providing the framework for people to be successful and to achieve and to be part of teams is something I do not think should be underestimated.The second part of the regulatory impact statement that I want to highlight is that a more significant set of offences would likely be unachievable within the time available. We want this bill enacted by the end of the year because of the Cricket World Cup. The Hon Trevor Mallard is absolutely right. A one-day cricket match generates over $6 million of sports betting. So when we look at it in that context it is incumbent on us to enact a piece of legislation before the Cricket World Cup which will begin in early 2015.The other context that I wanted to highlight was actually around sports codes and their responsibility within the context of sports betting. I am going to take a counter view to the Hon Trevor Mallard in that I actually endorse the International Rugby Board’s anti-corruption policy. The board has been really staunch about this because it thinks that this is a big threat to the integrity of its code. If you are caught participating in match fixing that means a lifetime ban. If you are caught betting once you can be banned for a year. But what I want to highlight is that the National Rugby League for example has been incredibly proactive. In fact it banned David Williams who plays for Manly for the remainder of the season because the league had caught him betting not only on other National Rugby League matches but on matches where he himself was involved. It took a very staunch stance. There were other players who were caught betting and they got a two-game suspension.But the relevance of any information Mr Mallard can be seen from the weekend actually. The Warriors were playing Manly. No one knew that Shaun Johnson was injured up to almost before kick-off. What is the relevance? Shaun Johnson is a very good player and anybody who has been watching the Warriors lately would have seen what an instrumental player he is. He does have the ability to affect the outcome of a match. Knowing that Shaun Johnson was injured and he was not going to play would have affected somebody’s ability to make or not make a bet so whether anybody gets any inside information that then puts them at an advantage to make a bet and to make money absolutely falls within the remit of this piece of legislation.I guess the third point from the regulatory impact statement was that we do not anticipate high levels of corruption but the reality is that there is an international threat within the context of sports betting and match fixing. Sport is a huge business today.So I want to congratulate the Minister for Sport and Recreation on bringing this bill to the House. I want to congratulate my colleague the Hon Trevor Mallard on being involved in discussions with the Minister. This is one of those pieces of legislation that has support across the House so we will be doing everything that we can to support the passage of the legislation. Finally I just want to congratulate Kereyn Smith Rob Waddell and the team at the Commonwealth Games particularly the cyclists. What I have seen in their teamwork is the ability for some of them to put in the hard yards during the race without an expectation that they are going to get a medal. I think that that level of teamwork epitomises what I would like to see across society—that it is all about the greater good. It is all about an outcome where New Zealand gets a medal. It is not about the individual doing what they do based on self-interest but actually based on their identification with something that is bigger than themselves. The members of the New Zealand cycling team are fundamentally doing what they do because they are proud to be New Zealanders. Nō reira tēnā koutou tēnā koutou tēnā tātou katoa.