Bradford Sue: Racing Bill — Third Reading 
Bradford Sue: Racing Bill — Third Reading 
[Volume:606;Page:4083] 
SUE BRADFORD (Green) 
: 
 I am pleased that the Racing Bill is finally receiving its third reading this afternoon. It has not exactly galloped raced or even trotted through the House having had its first reading in June 2001—nearly 2 years ago. No matter what they think of the bill in its final form I am sure that the various diverse streams of the racing industry will be relieved to finally know where they stand and will be able to begin to make plans based on the changes that the bill brings forward. Despite the reservations I have had about some aspects of the bill I think it marks the start of a new era for racing in New Zealand. This legislation provides the opportunity for the creation of a fresh governance framework—the new Racing Board—which I hope will comply with principles of both natural justice and social responsibility in all its dealings. 
I also note that the bill has been strengthened during the select committee process by an addition to the purpose clause which states very clearly that one of the bill’s three core goals must be to promote the long-term viability of New Zealand racing. Throughout the 2 years of the bill’s meander through parliamentary proceedings we have heard many submitters and lobbyists telling us the sad story of the current state of racing in this country. There are problems with the diminishing number of horses available to race; the loss of race days by some clubs in some cases altogether; the decline in attendance at meetings; unwelcome decreases in stake money; loss of income for trainers and breeders; loss of betting income to overseas jurisdictions and other forms of gambling and so on. That litany of woes makes it absolutely critical that the new board takes a leadership role right from the start in developing a capacity to build a strategic overview that takes into account the needs and concerns of all parts of the industry but is able to transcend petty feuding so that in the end the sector as a whole might move forward successfully and above all else survive. 
From the point of view of someone outside the racing world like myself it seems as though far too much time is taken up in some parts of the industry with petty feuds desperate power plays and the pursuit of naked self-interest. I do not know whether it is possible but I hope the new board will have the capacity to pursue achievable and visionary goals and the ability to work developmentally and fairly in the interests of all parts of the racing world. After listening to and reading the various submissions and working-party reports one thing that seems apparent is that despite the best efforts of many individuals and groups within racing there has not been any kind of strategic visioning or implementation across the industry for a very long time. If nothing else I believe that this must be a top priority for the new board and I sincerely hope that the Minister and the nomination advisory panel will do their best to select seven members who have the skills and experience to provide that kind of leadership. 
I believe the Racing Bill overall sets a second underpinning goal for the new board and that is to do everything it can to promote principles of natural justice and equity in racing—not only in its own activities and decisions but also in the codes. The bill does its best to outline clear and fairly detailed accountability structures between the board and the codes but it will be up to the board—and to some extent the Minister—to do their utmost to ensure that happens. 
Along with colleagues and other parties in this House and with the racing industry I tried very hard to get an amendment to the bill earlier this week that would have enabled an appeal procedure to be established. That process would have reviewed decisions of the board and would have been particularly useful in the most naturally contentious areas of distribution of reserves and allocation of race dates as well as other board decisions in a broader sense. Our Green Party amendment would have provided the industry with a fair process to guard against prejudice and protect the interests of the smaller clubs and groups which lack the financial and political clout of larger and richer organisations. Without such a review and appeal process in place I am very concerned that many of the current problems may continue under the new system. If the board is of a high enough quality and is ultra-accountable I may be proved wrong. I certainly hope that will be the case. 
Meanwhile I was dismayed the other night by the failure of either the Labour Party or the ACT party to support the Green amendment. All we were trying to do—along with United Future New Zealand First and National—was to make the industry more transparent and fairer for all stakeholders. I cannot understand why Labour and ACT were so keen to oppose the review process especially given the fact that almost all other similar law contains such provisions. 
Rural and provincial race clubs are the lifeblood of racing. At a time when the industry is under both internal and external threat the last thing any of us should be doing is undermining the smaller clubs any more than they have been already. Over the past decade and more there have been too many moves to coerced amalgamation and enforced loss of race dates on the theory that the largest clubs need and deserve the lion’s share of dates and funds to survive. That is madness—the rich and powerful taking from the weak to make themselves stronger if they can. It is an understandable madness in that all groups in nature fight for survival but nonsensical when one looks at the long-term interests of racing in New Zealand. 
I hope that in future and even without a review and appeal process in place the board and the codes will do everything they can to make their decisions in an even-handed and thoughtful way recognising that everyone cannot get what he or she wants but that everyone deserves to have a role and a rightful place that need to be supported to the maximum extent possible. 
Finally I would like to thank the Government for its support for another Green amendment that we put up earlier this week. That amendment will go some way to addressing our concerns about discrimination and inequity. I hope that its provisions will be applied in practice by all who might need them in future. 
In a broader sense I would like to thank everyone who had a role in shaping this bill. I know that the whole process of the genesis and formation of the Racing Bill has right from the start been long slow and difficult and not easy for anyone concerned. It is a credit to the various Ministers officials submitters and the dogged members of the Government Administration Committee that we finally have before us legislation which if applied well will sow the seeds of a much happier future for New Zealand racing.