Turei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTurei Metiria: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 11 July 2013. Volume:692;Page:11970. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]5.METIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader—Green)to theMinister for Economic Development: When will he release all of the advice he has received on the social harms from theSkyCity deal given his statement yesterday that it is his “understanding” that only “most” of the advice has been released?Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development):I said to the member yesterday that I would check again and I have. On Monday we released most of the material relating to social harm along with Cabinet papers relating to the agreement and of course the regulatory impact statement. As I said to the member yesterday there is more information relating to the wider agreement that will be released soon. That material includes a number of briefings and correspondence relating to the negotiations themselves. Inevitably some of that material will include some information about harm reduction but the main documents in regard to harm minimisation have already been released.Metiria Turei: Has the Minister seen any advice on how many Auckland children will be left alone in the Skycity car-park as a result of increased gambling under theSkycity deal given that there were seven reports—seven—of children left alone in that car-park last year?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Well I have received advice regarding harm minimisation more generally not on the specific item that the member raises and that information is contained in the report. It makes it clear that it is not possible to say that as a result of the changes there will necessarily be any increase in some of the social issues the member outlines.Metiria Turei: Has the Minister asked for or seen any advice about how many jobs in Auckland will be lost due to Auckland businesses folding from more gambling-related fraud from increased gambling under the Skycity deal?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: No. What I have received advice on in relation to jobs are the 1000 construction jobs created with the convention centre and the approximately 800 jobs that will be created for its ongoing operation which go of course with the 3500 jobs currently held by employees of Skycity.Metiria Turei: Has the Minister read the KPMG fraud survey that shows that gambling remains a major motivator of fraud with high individual losses and has he sought advice on the economic cost of fraud from increased gambling under the Skycity deal?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: I have not seen the particular report that the member outlines. I am sure she could dig out some other reports if she wished to. What I have been through though in some detail is a regulatory impact statement that lays out the potential risks and also lays out the benefits of this arrangement. I can inform the member again—and the House will get the opportunity to vote on this this afternoon—that it is the Government’s view that the balance is in favour of proceeding with this arrangement.Metiria Turei: Has the Minister sought advice on how much money Auckland charities can expect to have stolen as a result of gambling-related theft arising from the Skycity deal given that more than 50 percent of stolen charity funds are stolen to fuel problem gambling and how many jobs in those charities are expected to be lost as a result of that theft?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: Well with the greatest respect to the member we could go through every possible social harm in Auckland but again I would point out to the member that there is no guarantee that they would increase under this arrangement because the reality is that the marginal increase in pokie machines by Skycity in this arrangement is more than offset by the decline of pokie machines across the rest of Auckland and the country.Metiria Turei: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was very specific and was as to whether the Minister has sought advice on the issue of theft from charities—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I certainly heard the question. I thought the Minister made a reasonable attempt but if he could just clarify whether he has sought any specific advice on that specific issue of Auckland charities having money stolen from them then that would presumably be of satisfaction to the member.Hon STEVEN JOYCE: No; and I can probably give the same answer for a number of her further supplementary questions.Metiria Turei: Why did theKordaMentha report into the Skycity deal omit to factor in the increased risk of business fraud and increased theft from charities and the subsequent job losses and can we take it then that the report does not provide an accurate assessment of the actual costs or benefits of the Skycity deal?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The member constantly—and I can only think deliberately—seeks to misrepresent the position of theKordaMentha report. TheKordaMentha report was designed to balance the economic benefits to Skycity versus the economic benefits to the Crown to check that there was fairness in terms of the allocation. It was not designed to assess the social harm risks. That has been adequately dealt with as I said in the regulatory impact statement. Again it is by no means clear at all that a marginal increase in machines in one casino will increase gambling harm especially when the total number of machines across Auckland and across New Zealand continues to decline.Metiria Turei: Given that the Minister has no idea how much money will be stolen how many businesses will fold or how many jobs will be lost from the increase in gambling-related crime under the Skycity deal can we take it then that his job numbers are at best inaccurate and at worst just made up?Hon STEVEN JOYCE: No. I can tell the member what I do have no idea about and that is why it is that the Greens are so vociferously opposed to this deal when they were so silent about the deal that occurred under the previous Labour Government. I can conclude only that it is politics and it is not principle.Hon Trevor Mallard: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister has no responsibility for the Greens’ policy he has no responsibility for the previous Labour Government and he has no responsibility for the decisions of Judith Collins before she was a Minister.Mr SPEAKER: Order! And I do not think that in any way the Minister through his answer accepted responsibility for the Green Party the former Labour Government or decisions by Judith Collins. He simply responded to a question that was relatively political and he responded politically back again.