Cosgrove Clayton: Sports Anti-Doping Bill — In Committee 
Cosgrove Clayton: Sports Anti-Doping Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:634;Page:5973] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Minister for Building Issues) 
: I rise to take a short call on the Sports Anti-Doping Bill and I will just say a couple of things about this bill to set a bit of context for members. 
Sandra Goudie 
: Nobody’s listening. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: It is the Sports Anti-Doping Bill—not an “Anti-Dope Bill” as it would be in Sandra’s case. 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member must use the member’s full name not a single name. There was also a personal reflection. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I withdraw. 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Thank you. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: The Sports Anti-Doping Bill updates New Zealand’s anti-doping legislation so that the agencies and national sporting organisations involved in anti-doping activities in New Zealand are more easily able to comply with the World Anti-Doping Code. New Zealand does not require the Sports Anti-Doping Bill in order to implement the said code or convention as New Zealand is already compliant with these instruments. Instead the bill provides a more efficient and effective way for New Zealand to implement the code. However the bill is intended to assist New Zealand’s compliance with that code. 
The bill updates the responsibilities of the agency to reflect the requirements of the code. The bill also provides for the making of rules closely based on the code that will be able to be implemented by sporting organisations through their anti-doping policies and constitutions. Adoption or compliance with the rules is not compulsory under the bill. The bill itself imposes no obligation on persons; rather it sets up an anti-doping regime that is compliant with the code and easily adopted by sporting organisations. 
There is a question of who will be affected by the bill. The bill does not create a mandatory anti-doping regime. Although the bill provides for sports anti-doping rules these will not be mandatory unless national sporting organisations adopt them or require their members to abide by them. Adoption of the rules by national sporting organisations and requiring members to abide by the rules is a way of ensuring compliance with the code. 
I draw members’ attention to the Supplementary Order Paper that the Government is putting forward and I will run quickly through a couple of key points for members. In respect of the commencement date most clauses of the Supplementary Order Paper deal with the new commencement date of 1 July 2007. This date is intended to provide a fixed start date for the bill in order to give national sporting organisations sufficient time to amend their anti-doping policies while ensuring that the commencement of the bill is not delayed unnecessarily. 
In respect of the expanded transitional functions of Drug Free Sport New Zealand a delay in the commencement date would however prevent Drug Free Sport New Zealand from carrying out its new expanded functions under the code such as preparing the sports anti-doping rules and investigating the anti-doping violations of trafficking in prohibited substances. For this reason clauses 48 48A and 48B will commence on the day the bill is given the Royal assent. The early commencement of these clauses will allow Drug Free Sport New Zealand to continue to prepare the sports anti-doping rules and carry out its own investigative functions. 
In respect of clarification of the jurisdiction of the Sports Tribunal of New Zealand the remaining clauses of the Supplementary Order Paper are technical clarifications to ensure there is no question about the scope of the Sports Tribunal’s jurisdiction under the bill. Amendments to clause 3 clarify that the Sports Tribunal will have functions that are not related to anti-doping—that is hearing considering and determining other sports-related matters. This non-doping jurisdiction is continued by the bill. Finally the amendments to clause 38 clarify that the Sports Tribunal will be able to set its own procedures and practices for both anti-doping and non-doping matters.