Roberts AngelaANGELA ROBERTS (Labour): Thank you Mr Speaker. It is my pleasure to rise and stand and discuss the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill. It's been wonderful: over the process of this bill almost everyone in the House has reflected on their times at a small country race meet—and the wonderful electorate of Taranaki - King Country is also full of good stories. I was also like my esteemed colleague across the aisle not built to be a jockey but simply sit on the sidelines and take a solid bet. I'm not a good better either; I just you know go by the colour of the horse and maybe the name. But sometimes it pays off. So I just want to reflect—we heard that racing is the sport of kings but up in Waipā of course Waipā is the home of champions" and we've got some really long history of the racing industry like we've heard right across the country. It isn't just a huge part of our economy but it is also a huge part of our culture especially for our smaller towns. We've heard the pros and the cons. We know it is a conscience vote and one of the pros we've heard about is the significant opportunity we get when we get to come together for a very small—and we now know the classification of that: very few meetings a year—racing club's opportunity to come together. So we've got this wonderful park and I have to think very carefully whether it's in Whanganui electorate or the Taranaki - King Country electorate—it's right on the border there. Maybe the carpark's in King Country. But Te Kapua Park is a fabulous racetrack and we have had wonderful wonderful New Year's Eves there and we've heard about it being a social environment a family environment and a wonderful day out. You know we'd pack up the picnic and we'd take the kids down and there'd be a bouncy castle and a train and you'd go down to the birdcage and you'd pick out your horse and it was always very very exciting and it was fun for everybody. The fact that at that stage there was a licence required meant that there was a little bit of supervision of the alcohol consumption but there was a licence to bring your own and I think that the behaviour of those who turned up was very much peer-moderated. We had the young lads who turned up with a bit of beer and those of us who had kids around you know we'd make sure that they kept themselves sorted. It was a real community responsibility that was taken very seriously. I can remember experiencing having a shandy with my nana. So the idea of actually introducing responsible drinking is you know something that happens at a race club.Hon Member: Nothing like a shandy.ANGELA ROBERTS: Nothing like a shandy especially on a hot New Year's Eve like we get under that beautiful maunga in Taranaki. We really appreciate the care with which this bill has been shepherded through the House and it's interesting to observe the submissions that were made from all of these racing clubs. Not all of them are tiny and you know even good old Waverley Racing Club which everyone would assume is small but mighty it has seven meets a year so it isn't even covered by this bill. So this is really very much about supporting those little race clubs who don't have the infrastructure they don't have the bar and the licence and the staff and everybody else that would quite frankly not be as effective as my nana I don't think at controlling the behaviour of those who did bring their alcohol. We look after each other in our small communities we make sure that we've got designated drivers and we make sure that the shandy is very much more lemonade than beer. I think that we can be very reassured that in these really small clubs that meet so infrequently that actually it is possible for us to look out for each other. I know that when I had conversations with constituents across my electorate it was a no-brainer to them. They really felt that it could be assumed that as communities they are mature enough to absolutely make sure that harm is minimised and risk is mitigated and I think that's been evidenced in all of the submissions that were made. I think given that these submissions came from the communities most affected it's been really interesting that it is a community response; it's about relationships and the maturity that will be expected of these communities to make sure that this lands well and I think that's great. I think that actually reflects the strength of our rural communities the fact that we look after each other. When things go wrong we look after each other; and when things are going well—you know when that horse comes in on New Year's Eve on that beautiful sunny day when you've got your shandy—that we hang out with each other and we have a great time. It's really nice actually that we have an opportunity to relax and have a good time and look after each other as rural communities and that holds us in good stead when we have tough times like the East Coast has had.So I think—personally obviously because it is a conscience vote—that this is a pretty solid bill and it'll be interesting to see if all of those reflections that people have had about the importance of such a social occasion to our small communities is really recognised in hopefully this bill passing in the House.There was opposition and they were fair challenges. We know that we have in general as a society got a long way to go to make sure that we are able to consume our alcohol responsibly and look after each other. We know that our statistics with drink-driving and family violence are not pretty. But this is something quite different: this is a community event and it is something that like I say I've spent many times taking my small children—who aren't so small any more—along to race meetings and haven't worried about you know a mosh pit or anything being something that they are going to have to be worried about. It has always been a family event and we've always looked out for each other. I really do think that this has been a great little bill to bring to the House and I really appreciate the care—I didn't sit on the select committee; we've heard from our colleagues who have shepherded it through and they were really clear that they took care to get the technicalities right. I think attending to "racing club" to "small racing club" means that this becomes really really efficient and effective and it is something that will stand it in good stead. Obviously we've had things like the Racing Act 2003 that has been replaced by the Racing Industry Act and a lot of those little technical details that mean that there's no drama or problem with trying to reduce the compliance issues for our small racing clubs. We've heard from many of our previous speakers about the challenges that our little racing clubs have had. Unfortunately the idea of having a race meet at Te Kapua Park is no more as racing clubs have consolidated their meets. Our really tiny racing clubs are in a precarious position and something that can enable them to not have to have huge compliance costs—which I would argue don't necessarily improve the behaviour of those who are attending a race meet—means that they are more likely to be able to engage their local community in a really great event. I really thank Mr McKelvie for bringing this bill to the House his commitment and his care for the industry and to his community is obvious and it's wonderful to be able to support that effort of Mr McKelvie's to bring it to the House. So for those of us who enjoy a wee bet every now and then and a wee shandy while we're having that bet and whether or not we win or lose doesn't matter because we can go and have a bounce on the bouncy castle and all will be forgiven. So I commend this bill to the House."