Collins Judith: New Zealand International Convention Centre Act 2013 Repeal Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCollins Judith: New Zealand International Convention Centre Act 2013 Repeal Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 22 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5230. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon JUDITH COLLINS (National—Papakura): This bill is an interesting bill. It has been drafted with the full intellectual weight that New Zealand First has. It has three clauses and it has three sentences. In fact the explanatory note the clause by clause analysis I see has one extra sentence to that. So clearly the drafters in the Clerk’s Office have been helpful to New Zealand First by trying to make it look more substantial.But I have to say that this is an interesting debate. I have been listening very carefully and having myself previously been the chair of the Casino Control Authority appointed in 1999 and having retained that position until I came to Parliament I know something about casinos. One of the things I do not do is I do not gamble in them unlike of course some of the New Zealand First appointees to that board who did gamble in them all the time outside of New Zealand of course. I have to say that I have been listening all about the evils of gambling and I wonder whether the people who have been calling out about the evils of gambling have themselves not gambled. Have they ever gambled? Would that be on racing at the TAB or on pokie machines? What about Mr Clayton Mitchell? That man had so many bars in Tauranga which he owned with Mr Brad Shipton—you might have heard of him. I bet they had pokie machines too. Well that is about as much as I will ever bet. That is probably pretty much what happened.So when I listened to it I thought gosh why is it that only some gambling is all right but others are not? I mean the casino in Auckland has well over 3000 staff—3000 staff who otherwise would not have a job. When we are looking at the New Zealand International Convention Centre itself why should Auckland not have a convention centre? Of course we cannot afford just to go off and buy it—not like for instance the last deal that Labour and New Zealand First did which was in July 2008. That was the last time they did a real big deal a business deal. That was when they paid $690 million for KiwiRail—$690 million for KiwiRail—which would have been great if the value had gone up but actually what happened is that just a couple of months later Treasury came out with the facts that it had valued KiwiRail at a mere $369 million.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): Order!Hon JUDITH COLLINS: What that actually tells me is that when we are talking about doing a deal on the convention centre for the benefit of Auckland and for the benefit of New Zealand New Zealand First members and Labour members are the last people we should be taking any notice of. The last time they did a deal supposedly for the betterment of New Zealand they paid $300 million more to the American owners of Toll. That is what they did—$300 million more. I would have to say if we are going to talk about that why would you listen to those people?Ron Mark: Two hundred and forty—that’s what you got.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: I see that Mr Ron Mark has got a lot of noise today. It must be because of his new position as deputy leader of New Zealand First after he very cruelly rolled my good friend Tracey Martin.Let us talk about New Zealand investment. So many of us actually want to see New Zealand companies do well. [Interruption] Why are they so noisy and have so little to say? Why is that? It is of course because that is the combined intellectual brunt of New Zealand First. Having said that Skycity is a New Zealand company that has been able to register on the Australian stock exchange as well as the New Zealand stock exchange. What it has been able to do as well is for instance in 2000 it bought the Adelaide Casino. In 2004 it bought the Darwin casino. This is a New Zealand company that is absolutely in extension mode. I would say for anybody who wants to—[Bell rung]Hon David Cunliffe: Mr Speaker.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Actually sit down Mr Cunliffe. Wait your turn. Having said that Mrs Martin—and I think good on Mrs Martin—said that this is possibly the most important piece of legislation to be voted on in this House. I do not think so. I think it is possibly not the most important but I have to say I like the fact that she backs herself. I like that and I would say good on her. She has a marvellous sense of humour as you would need to if you were a woman in the New Zealand First Party.But to listen to what we have heard today I have to say the arguments are just pathetic. Basically it is that these people in the casino business are making money—oh gosh that is dreadful—and employing people and bringing people to New Zealand. Good on them.