Yang Jian: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeYang Jian: New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 05 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:14359. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Dr JIAN YANG (National): I would like to make a few comments about Tracey Martin’s speech. I was simply appalled when I heard that Tracey Martin was saying that private companies are not New Zealand companies. That really reflects Tracey Martin’s attitude. It was New Zealand companies—Tracey Martin: What? Private companies are not New Zealand companies—when did I say that?Dr JIAN YANG: You said that because it is a private company it is not a New Zealand company. That is what you said.We all know that New Zealand’s economy is recovering well from the global financial crisis. New Zealand is and will continue to be one of the fastest-growing economies amongst OECD countries. I am very proud of what the Government has been achieving. The Government has been working very hard to build a more competitive and productive economy. This has been one of National’s top priorities—one of its main priorities. The New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill will deliver more jobs and growth for New Zealanders.Tourism is one of our most important pillars of our economy. The New Zealand International Convention Centre will further boost our tourism industry. I have no doubt about this because I have talked to a number of professionals in this industry and all of them share my views. As a matter of fact for years the tourism industry and the business sector have been asking for an international convention centre to be built in New Zealand to ensure that we can compete with Australia and Asia by tapping into the growing market of high-value business visitors. The New Zealand International Convention Centre is expected to attract about 33000 more—Scott Simpson: How many?Dr JIAN YANG: —33000 more conference delegates to New Zealand each year. Let me quote Tourism New Zealand’s Chief Executive Kevin Bowler. He said: “International delegates deliver the highest average daily spend of all visitors spending over $3000 while holiday Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) and business arrivals spend under $3000.”There are indeed people in our community who do have issues with gambling. However it is worth noting that the Department of Internal Affairs acknowledges that the figures are very difficult to quantify and putting a cost on it is “extremely difficult”. Under the agreement Skycity will have to introduce a predictive modelling tool that analyses data to identify players at risk of problem gambling as well as a voluntary pre-commitment system where players can elect to restrict the amount of time they play or the amount they spend. In August of this year the Gambling Commission published its review of Skycity’s Auckland casino programme. Its assessment included extensive consultation with the Salvation Army the Ministry of Health the Department of Internal Affairs and Lifeline Aotearoa. The report concluded that New Zealand’s regulatory environment is rigorous in the extent to which it emphasises responsible gambling principles and that the Auckland casino’s current Host Responsibility programme is of a high standard internationally.The New Zealand International Convention Centre is just one of the Government’s around 330 initiatives in the Business Growth Agenda to grow jobs for all Kiwis. I commend the bill to the House. Thank you.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.