Roche Denise: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeRoche Denise: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 05 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:14361. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DENISE ROCHE (Green): I will be taking this short call for the Greens on the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill as it comes back for its second reading in the House after it has been to the Commerce Committee. The Government says that this deal is about economic growth but this deal relies on bad negotiation. It relies on favouritism it relies on crony capitalism and it ignores officials’ advice on how many jobs will be created as a result of this deal. The officials’ advice says there will be 18 jobs created as a result of this deal. If that is economic growth then we must be very worried indeed because those 18 jobs come and that economic growth—and it is not a lot—comes at the cost of 230 pokie machines 12 automated gaming tables with 20 seats at each table and 40 gambling tables as well. Basically that adds an entire casino to New Zealand’s current list of casinos. In fact it would be the third-largest casino in New Zealand and we add that on top of what is already there in Auckland. We do that in exchange for 18 jobs.The casino is obviously a very good negotiator and also gets a 27-year extension on its licence. In Australia we are a laughing stock. We are a laughing stock because we are hopeless negotiators. The sweet deal that was stitched up over dinner between Government Ministers the Prime Minister and Skycity management is a sweet deal for Skycity. It is not a sweet deal for us. Skycity is basically increasing its revenue by 25 percent and it will have recouped the $403 million it will cost for it to build its convention centre in 4 years so the extra 23-year extension to its licence was for free. It was for free. Generally it would have to pay millions for that. How come our Government did not factor that in to the negotiations? Minister Joyce in his introductory speech said that New Zealanders will get a convention centre with little or no investment by NewZealanders. That is absolute tosh because New Zealanders will be paying the externalised costs for years to come.We know that the Government had some information about the cost of social harm but we do not know what that information was because it has been kept out of the public arena because Skycity the friend of this Government says that that information on the costs of harm minimisation or harm reduction is commercially sensitive. The taxpayers of New Zealand will be covering the costs while Skycity reaps the profits. We know that 40 percent of those profits that it makes come from problem gambling. We will pay for the increase in crime the increase in neglect the suicide the family erosion and the harm to our communities. We will be paying for the crime that occurs to businesses and not-for-profit organisations when they deal with theft by their employees who are fuelling their gambling addictions. It is us who will pay for that.We know that for every pokie machine of those 230 that are put into this casino in exchange for a convention centre 0.8 of a problem gambler is the by-product of that machine. We know that last year alone there were 89000 people in Aotearoa New Zealand who were harmed by someone with a gambling problem. We also know through the officials’ own information that they estimate that 6500 children will be harmed as a direct result of this deal. This is incredibly disappointing legislation. The Government has a one vote majority to pass it and it will be a conscience vote. I implore the members of the House on that side to seriously consider their consciences and to consider what their constituents want before they cast their votes tonight.