Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCrimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 27 November 2014. Volume:702;Page:937. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment BillSecond ReadingHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister for Sport and Recreation):I move That the Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill be now read a second time. This bill seeks to address the growing reports of match fixing. I would like to begin by thanking the Law and Order Committee for the work that has gone on and for its careful consideration of the bill. I would also like to thank all those who have submitted on the bill. As a result of those submissions and the committee’s careful consideration of them a small but important amendment has been recommended which I will return to later.This bill makes an amendment to the Crimes Act to clarify under section 240 of the Act that match fixing is a form of deception. This amendment is necessary because it is currently unclear whether match fixing can be prosecuted in New Zealand. With two major sporting events to be hosted in New Zealand next year—the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup and the FIFA U-20 World Cup—and with the risk of match fixing growing internationally this bill is timely in providing that match fixing can be dealt with under the criminal law as well as by non-legislative means. This combination of legislative and sporting code responses will place New Zealand in a very strong position to tackle this threat.New Zealand along with Australia will co-host the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup in February next year. The Cricket World Cup is the International Cricket Council’s flagship 1-day international tournament. New Zealand has achieved an excellent allocation of matches including the same number of pool matches and host cities as Australia. There will be 49 matches in 44 days across 14 venues across both nations. Christchurch will host the opening ceremony and the opening match of the tournament. The International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup will be the first major international sporting tournament held in the city since the Canterbury earthquakes. Government agencies through Sport New Zealand’s world cup office are working closely with the local organising committee to ensure the coordinated delivery of essential services and support. The world cup’s office is also working with “New Zealand Inc.” agencies and regional development bodies to ensure the benefits of hosting the tournament are fully realised.Our hosting of the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup is a once-in-a-generation opportunity. This is not only a fantastic tournament for Kiwi cricket fans but also a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand to the world with a television audience expected globally of 1.6 billion people. However we have got to ensure that we are prepared for this event. Cricket is a sport well known for presenting match-fixing risks. We would be naive to assume that New Zealand is immune to those risks and anyone who has read the sports pages over the past year will be well aware of what I am talking about. This bill forms an important part of the preparations for hosting this important tournament. Match fixing would damage the integrity growth and development of sport in New Zealand. It could also have a negative impact on our prospects of hosting future major sporting events events that bring a raft of social cultural and economic benefits.I would like to take this opportunity to clarify a few aspects of the bill and to pick up on some of the issues that were discussed by the committee. Firstly this bill is about criminalising the most serious form of match fixing; it is not about making athletes or other people liable for serious criminal offences simply for not playing to the very best of their ability or for breaching their sport’s code of ethics. That sort of behaviour is very much within the purview of governing sports bodies. The bill is aimed at situations where a match or racing event is manipulated with intent to influence a betting outcome. This is where the conduct involved becomes truly criminal. The bill makes it clear that anyone who obtains a benefit or causes a loss by manipulating a match or racing event with intent to influence a betting outcome commits an offence. Such manipulation not only damages the integrity of sport it also allows dishonest people to make potentially significant amounts of money through deception. Match fixing can also provide organised crime with a lucrative income stream. This type of behaviour has no place in New Zealand.It is also important to note that this bill is not the only measure being adopted to fight match fixing. Sport New Zealand is doing a lot of work to help ensure that governing sports bodies have appropriate measures in place. New Zealand’s response to the risk of match fixing has been described as world leading by Interpol. The New Zealand Policy on Sports Match-fixing and Related Corruption was launched in May 2014. It includes a set of fundamental rules that governing sports bodies must put in place. These rules set out how they will prevent and respond to match fixing and will be linked to sanctions such as bans from participation in sport for breaching the rules. Governing sports bodies will also be required to have education programmes in place so that everyone linked with the organisation understands their part in preventing match fixing. These non-legislative measures are crucial in the fight against match fixing because they give the sports sector the tools to protect itself from corruption.One matter discussed by the Law and Order Committee was the extent to which the bill applies to a person who arranges the fix—that is someone who induces a player to fix a match. Obviously these kinds of questions are always fact and circumstance - specific. However it is clear under the bill that anyone who obtains a benefit or causes a loss by manipulating a match with intent to influence a betting outcome will commit just such an offence. If the circumstances of a particular case do not allow the person who organised the fix to be prosecuted directly he or she will still be captured by section 66 of the Crimes Act. This section makes a person liable if they help encourage or procure another person to commit an offence. Once this bill is passed both those who arrange a fix and those who carry out the on-field deception will be liable.The committee has recommended one small but significant amendment to the bill that will help to remove a possible unintended defence. This unintended defence is created by the words “otherwise than for tactical or strategic sporting reasons”. The committee has recommended that these words be removed from the bill. These words were originally intended to reflect the policy intent that mere manipulation of a match for tactical or strategic reasons should not be criminalised. However it has become apparent that these words may provide an offence where a match is manipulated at least in part for tactical or strategic sporting reasons. This defence could apply even if the person also acted with intent to influence a betting outcome. Such a defence is undesirable because it would allow a person who manipulated a match with intent to influence a betting income to escape liability. For example a person who deliberately loses a match to gain an advantage in the next round of competition but who also bets on this result would escape liability.There are a couple of other points I would like to make clear about the bill. First the betting that motivates the match fixing need not occur in regulated betting markets. Match fixers will often be motivated by returns that can be made in lucrative unregulated betting markets including those offshore. Secondly I would like to make it clear that the bill also covers spot fixing—the practice of predetermining discrete events within a match such as the timing of a no-ball in cricket or a yellow-card in football. New section 240A(1)(b) inserted by clause 4 of the bill makes this clear.Lastly I would like to thank again the Law and Order Committee those who submitted on the bill and those officials who worked on the bill. It is an important bill that will protect the integrity of New Zealand sport and it is great that it is going to be in place for what will be a wonderful event for New Zealand the International Cricket Council Cricket World Cup. I commend this bill to the House.Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South):I would like to congratulate the new Minister for Sport and Recreation Jonathan Coleman on his change of portfolio but I give him a brickbat at the same time and say that when he says he is going to a netball match and he is welcome there especially when the Prime Minister is there looking for him he should actually be there. It is a habit of National Ministers—again at the rugby league the Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga was meant to be the Government representative at the rugby league when we beat Australia in the final and he did not turn up either. It is embarrassing for sports codes when people who are meant to be representing the Government and who are meant to be senior representatives do not bother turning up.I first discussed this legislation with the then Minister for Sport and Recreation the Hon Murray McCully about 3 years ago. We did it in the context of: “This sort of thing wouldn’t ever happen here.” I think it is ironic that we are dealing with this legislation in a week where we are dealing with reports where 3 years ago in that area as well as in rorting sports matches we would have said it would not happen here. I am referring obviously in passing to the various reports that came out on Tuesday. We would never have thought that within New Zealand cricketers would cheat in order to obtain money but equally we would never have thought that an official in the office of the Prime Minister would approach and encourage the SIS to use its material for part of that purpose. It is just the sort of thing that does not happen in New Zealand! Well unfortunately it is happening with New Zealanders in both those areas and it is something that is very very embarrassing.As I indicated when we first knew that we had the Cricket World Cup the then Minister Murray McCully and I had a discussion about the need to get up to speed on this legislation. We probably had half a dozen discussions over the ensuing period. When it became quite urgent about 12 months ago I indicated to the Minister that I would help if possible facilitate and foreshorten a select committee process in order to get the legislation through. I know he worked really hard with his colleagues within Cabinet with the Leader of the House and with the Attorney-General for the purposes of getting it drafted and with the Minister of Justice who ended up taking responsibility for it but it is just shocking that 3 years after we knew that we needed this legislation we are rushing it through with a shortened select committee process and without its proper hearing.I now want to severely criticise the chair of the Law and Order Committee. One of the things that are really important in making the Parliament work is that when a member makes an undertaking to another member that if they want to change their mind or withdraw from their undertaking they contact the member to do it. Mike Sabin agreed with me to have foreshortened hearings with a few sports organisations coming in because we knew we did not have much time. What he was told was that the officials did not want to come in and that is what he reported back to me and he decided it would not happen.What I wanted to do as part of this—and I want to say that the way this Parliament should work is that if two members agree to do something I do not need to tell my colleagues what we agreed because it would automatically happen. I admit a mistake. I trusted Mike Sabin to do what he said he would do. I did not talk to my other colleagues on the committee because I thought it would happen automatically. We had an agreement to get a very small group of national sporting organisations and the Law Society in front of the committee and that did not happen. It did not happen Mike Sabin told me because the officials told him they thought he did not need to bring them in. I just want to know who runs this Parliament. Who runs this Parliament? Who chairs the select committee? Who pulls the strings? Are the members meant to be running it or do we have someone who chairs a committee and says when the officials say: “Oh we don’t need to talk about it.” that it is OK and we do not need to talk about it?Well it is just not good enough. We support this legislation. It is not brilliant legislation. It does not go as far as it should. It is badly inconsistent with the various sporting codes and that is why I wanted to get the codes in to see what they wanted to do to try to get their codes better aligned with each other and better aligned with where we want to go. I think that is a reasonable thing. It is part of making legislation work. It is part of making the system work. The way some of the codes—and I will give the International Rugby Board as an example; I have had an on-off relationship with that board over the years. But in this particular case its codes of conduct to do with sports betting are just nonsense. If I go down to the local kōhanga reo and have a cup of tea with Piri Weepu’s mum as I do every now and again I am not allowed to bet on rugby.Mike Sabin: That’s not true.Hon TREVOR MALLARD: Yes it is ridiculous. I agree with Mike Sabin. It is ridiculous but that is the way code works. People who have discussions with the relatives of contracted players are not allowed to go and have a bet on it at the TAB whether or not they have a discussion about that particular sport.Mike Sabin: Is that a sporting code of conduct or is that the legislation?Hon TREVOR MALLARD: The member has got it. That has to do with the sports code of conduct. I am pleased Mike Sabin understands that. What I want to do is to make sure that the sports codes of conduct are consistent with each other and are coherent in the sense of the way they work with the legislation that we are dealing with now and they are not. But Mike Sabin decided after he was instructed by his officials that that was not important. What he has done is change a piece of legislation that could have gone through the Parliament in a couple of hours to something that is going to be contested and debated over the next period. I just say to the relatively junior chair of the select committee that a phone call to double-check could have sorted things out. I just want to say—and I might be old-fashioned and I might be slightly older than the member—that when a member gives me his word that he will do something I expect him to do it. Thank you.MIKE SABIN (National—Northland):I am glad to be able to take the opportunity to rebut some of the comments that Trevor Mallard has made. I will give the House an appreciation of what happened. I took over as the new chairperson of the Law and Order Committee. I went to the member because he held that portfolio as the Opposition spokesman. I explained to him about the truncated nature of the matter from this point because this legislation clearly needs to pass before the end of this sitting year. I asked him whether there were any concerns or anything he wanted to bring to my attention. He gave me a range of sporting bodies and said it would be good for these people to be approached.At that stage when I spoke to the member Trevor Mallard he told me that he did not know how long the bill had been open for submissions or whether it was open for submissions. At that point it had been open for submissions for some 3½ months. I took the names of those organisations instructed the clerk to make contact and I also spoke to the officials about whom they had been in contact with. As a result of putting out the requests to those people and to a number of others actually one further submitter came forward and said that they wanted to make a submission.When I spoke to the officials on that they advised that as a result of many months of consultation related to the sports codes of conduct work and the work that has actually been going on behind this—I think the honourable member makes a very good point about the fact that there has to be alignment between codes of conduct and this legislation. Otherwise you can get into a mickey mouse situation where the codes of conduct actually undermine what this legislation is setting out to do. But on checking with the officials in terms of the level of engagement and putting out a call to those additional groups and some others I might add to see whether or not they wanted to make submissions it was quite clear that they had been involved in heavy consultation and they had no matters to raise with the committee. I am not sure whether I am supposed to go and force them into the committee to make some conversation. I am sure that if the member felt they had some valuable contribution to make in terms of ensuring the process to align the codes of conduct and codes of ethics that sporting codes are working on the member would go and speak to them regardless of the select committee process.Hon Trevor Mallard: I have. I have.MIKE SABIN: Well then Mr Mallard why did they not want to come along to the committee?Hon Trevor Mallard: Because I saw them afterwards because you shut them out.MIKE SABIN: That is just simply not the case Mr Mallard. That is simply not the case. As a new chairperson I went directly and the first person I spoke to was Mr Mallard. He has come into this House and misrepresented the exact situation. I am a man of my word. I covered that off. [Interruption] That is absolutely the case Mr Mallard. What you are saying does not line up with what I did. I also spoke to you and advised you subsequently that they had come back and said admittedly via the officials that they did not want to not have any submissions.Hon Trevor Mallard: Just because the officials didn’t want them to come doesn’t mean—MIKE SABIN: It was not at all related to the fact that the officials did not want them to come. They never said that at all. Mr Goff was on the committee at the time and he will vouch for that.But I will come back to the bill. Obviously with the upcoming World Cup this is important and I do accept what the honourable member Trevor Mallard says about the fact that we are now pressed up against Christmas-time and this bill needs to be passed.In a perfect world we would be in a position where all the legislation that we want to have in front of the House is passed through in a timely manner and there would not be delays. But I have to say that members on the other side of the House will stand there and occupy as much time as they can with hot breath not adding value to anything to try to stall that very legislation and they then turn round and say it should have been happening faster. I am not privy to why it was that this legislation has not got to the point where it should have but I accept that it is important legislation and it must pass. But it is also clear that the submission process was open for 3½ months.It is a very simple piece of legislation. I actually think that although it is an important piece of legislation the most important work that is going on alongside it is the work of Sport New Zealand with the governing bodies of sporting organisations to ensure that the codes of ethics the codes of conduct the rules are actually such that we get people on to—no pun intended—a level playing field. I think it is fair to say that that has not been the case.It is also the case that this bill is relatively narrow in that it does not set out to criminalise behaviour that we would consider to be just cheating. I am reminded of the famous line-out episode of one Andy Haden although I am not sure he would accept it was cheating. But if a sporting athlete gets into a situation where they are collapsing a scrum or where they are taking a fall a dive or what have you to influence an outcome that may give them a better position in the following round or so on and so forth clearly that is gamesmanship and arguably something that should not happen but it does. But when someone does that and there is a pecuniary advantage or they bet on the outcome—Hon Trevor Mallard: What about a win bonus?MIKE SABIN: Well I guess that falls into a similar category.Hon Trevor Mallard: No it doesn’t.MIKE SABIN: No no it does. It is quite clear that this legislation does not set out to criminalise the sort of behaviour that could result in people dropping a game to put themselves in a better round to get a better draw to win a bonus. That is the challenge. If you look at this—and it is considered world-leading legislation—it is a very complex area because the depth and layers of match fixing particularly are quite substantive. But this is very clear and it is very narrow in its intentions. It is about a bet a pecuniary advantage and someone trying to leverage an outcome of a match simply for that.Although the honourable member regrettably is obviously concerned about the select committee process I can put my hand on my heart and say that I was setting out to achieve exactly what he wants. This is not only important for match fixing it is actually also important for sporting codes to ensure that the sort of gamesmanship and nonsense that we can sometimes see is eliminated as part of this. This is not so say that it is criminalised but it is important that all sports are played in a fair and upfront manner. I commend the bill.KRIS FAAFOI (Labour—Mana):Thank you very much for the chance to speak to the second reading of the Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill. I might take this opportunity to as Mr Sabin said give a “hot-mouth” speech to this bill but I think it is very important that we do debate this piece of legislation fully. We understand that there are time constraints because on 14 February next year the Cricket World Cup will start in Christchurch. I think I myself like many people around the House who are sports fans want to make sure that that tournament and the FIFA U-20 World Cup that is played shortly after that are held and completely and utterly have no question marks over some of the behaviour around those events. We want to make sure that they are showcases as best as we can for New Zealand.As part of my new responsibilities under Andrew Little’s leadership I have been given the portfolio of racing. I will be asking for plenty of help from Sue Moroney who has experience in that sphere. But part of that responsibility—[Interruption] Thank you. But part of that responsibility is for the New Zealand Racing Board and the activities of the TAB and we want to make sure that the integrity and I guess the economic benefits of sports betting are kept and make sure that all the proceeds that come about from sports betting go back into the codes that are covered by that. So this is a very important piece of legislation to make sure the economic benefit and the emotional attachment that New Zealanders have to making sure that the sport is fair is kept intact.As I said I was a bit of cricket tragic when I grew up and continue to watch cricket. And as you watched tournaments like the 1992 Cricket World Cup you were hoping and you knew that the players who were playing for New Zealand were out there doing the best for their country. But it is unfortunately a reality of international sports these days that sports match-fixing has crept into top-level sports. There have been a number of cases in the last year—one I think where Lou Vincent has become the hero-villain for exposing the extent of what was happening with our top-level cricketers and we need to make sure that there is integrity in our top-level sports. I think it is a sad state of affairs that we do have to come to this Parliament and pass this kind of legislation but at the end of the day it is an unfortunate reality of the world we live in.Sports match-fixing is at its nastiest when people who have the ability to make profits have relationships with people who can affect the outcome and that is where the value is for what you would call match fixers because they will have relationships with people within the sports teams who can either bowl a no-ball or bowl wide and for sports betting be able to manipulate the outcome of a match. That is an interesting thing to look at when you look at the anatomy of match-fixing when someone can manipulate the outcome to get benefit.I guess that is what we have seen in the reports that have come out this week. We had an official in John Key’s office his deputy chief of staff who had access to information because he held that position from the SIS and passed that on to another staff member in Mr Key’s office who then went to someone he had a relationship with Cameron Slater to manipulate an outcome—to manipulate an outcome. So there is a strange irony in what we are doing here today because that Government over there is quite happy to manipulate an outcome. When any other fair-minded Kiwi—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member knows the subject of this debate. The previous speaker from his party made a passing comment. If the member continues to direct the flow of his speech along these lines he will be in breach of the rules of the House. I ask him to come back to the point in hand.KRIS FAAFOI: Thank you very much Mr Deputy Speaker for your guidance. I was just coming to the end of my point that any other New Zealander would call that cheating. Kiwis do not like cheating. They find it abhorrent. It is not the way that we do things; it is not cricket. So when they see people manipulate situations to their benefit when they should not have been doing that they do not like that. They do not like that at all whether it be sporting at the top level at Lancaster Park or here at the stadium or whether it be at their own sportsgrounds watching their kids play. They do not like it. They certainly do not like it in their politics either. So this bill goes to integrity. This goes to whether or not this is fair.New Zealanders will be watching these events that are going to be happening early in 2015 and subsequent events that this piece of legislation will cover. They will say: “If you jimmy the system if you work it to benefit you and it goes against the rules that are set out then it is not a good look.” They will make judgments as they have with sportspeople and as they will with their kids who might play rugby on the weekend or adults who are participating in sports or their politicians. If there is one thing about Kiwis they like people to get a fair go. That is why the show Fair Go has been so popular for decades. Kiwis fundamentally believe in the notion of getting a fair go and when they see someone on the other side who is not getting a fair go they seem to think that the people who are not giving people a fair go should not be there any more—given the red card I should say. I think that is what most Kiwis will think about.When we are out there thinking of laying a bet on a Cricket World Cup game or on the FIFA World Cup we will lay that bet thinking that everyone is playing by the rules. When you lay a bet or cast a vote next time you will know who is playing by the rules and who is not. There will be maybe a track record maybe like we have in the Turf Digest or the form book or the book you get at the races. You will see what that horse what that team or what that party has done for the last 3 years and say: “OK given that form am I going to back this party am I going to back this horse or am I going to back this team anymore?”. I think you will see in 3 years’ time that some horses will have done well and some horses will have faded away.This does go down to integrity in the sporting sector. I think as Mr Mallard said earlier in his contribution around the select committee process that it could have been tighter because there are codes within specific sports where we can make sure that those align closer to the sporting bodies and what is in this legislation. We do want to make sure we do have integrity around this process of sports betting. There are a lot of proceeds that go from sports betting into the sports that we have that are run by the TAB—the likes of cricket rugby and rugby league. Mr Deputy Speaker I know you have just blown the buzzer on me and I will call to a close soon but I do want to call back to what is important about this. It is about integrity. It is about whether or not we trust our sportspeople or people who operate horses—or maybe our politicians—to act with honesty and integrity. I think as you look at that form book and you want to back a horse or back a team that is doing things properly and playing by rules you will not put your money on a team that has run the vilest smear campaign out of the Prime Minister’s office for the last 6 years.KANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National):Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker for the opportunity to speak on the second reading of the Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill. We Kiwis like our sport without any of the games that cheats like to play. We believe in the sportsman’s spirit in playing the sport to the best of our ability and in the spirit of “may the best team win”. We New Zealanders strongly believe that teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to produce uncommon results. When New Zealand is rightfully contesting and hosting some of the world’s top sporting events I think it is the perfect time to have a law in place that deals stringently with any cheaters or scammers. By way of the legislation the Government wants to ensure that our sports and sportspeople remain competitive and honest as match-fixing is the No. 1 threat to our sports today. The legislation provides a firm definition of what match fixing is—that any manipulation in any form of sport with the intention of influencing the outcome of the match is considered as match fixing. It is critical to address match fixing as the end result of it is $140 billion in world cup money laundering which is itself a crime. The law will come into effect on 15 December 2014 which is in time for the Cricket World Cup. It gives tools to the authorities to deal with any such situation. It is important that such bills are passed in a timely manner and I commend this bill to the House.KEVIN HAGUE (Green):It is my pleasure to take a call on this matter. Sport serves a number of different functions: it entertains; it fosters a national or community spirit or identity and pride; and it inspires others to activity which is particularly important in this country or to endeavour of other sorts. So sport plays a pretty vital function in our society and in societies around the world. I believe I am probably more of a cricket tragic than Kris Faafoi and I wear the badge with some honour.Carmel Sepuloni: And you have the moustache.KEVIN HAGUE: Yes it is approaching the Merv Hughes moustache. Certainly in the moustache-growing competition in the House at the moment I believe I am ahead by more a head.When sport is not a genuine competition though all of those functions it serves are compromised. In modern sport the twin scourges have been doping and match fixing. I am an inveterate follower of the Tour de France and professional road cycling. It has become a sport that is very difficult to watch or to have any kind of stake in because of the level of doping in that sport. When we watch the Tour de France we simply do not know whether people are competing fairly or not and therefore whether the competition is real or not. And similarly actually some aspects of my great love cricket have also become difficult to watch for that same reason. We have seen Lou Vincent’s revelations. We are watching the court case in the UK involving Chris Cairns and the Indian Premier League. When I look at the Indian Premier League I do not know whether I can trust what I see on my TV screen as to whether or not it is a fair competition.In the field of gambling it is pretty much a truism that the house always wins. So whether it is a casino or pokie machines or a lottery or indeed sports betting those who bet often enough and to a sufficient level will pretty well always lose unless the odds are stacked or unless the match or the sport in which they are betting is in some way fixed. It is one of the reasons that I loathe sports betting because it has introduced into sport the very strong incentive to skew the odds to make it an unfair competition in order to maximise profitability from betting activity.There are two kinds of harm that emerge from that. One is the harm from the skewed betting activity itself whereby people are effectively defrauded by those who have procured the fixing of the match because the odds on which they have betted do not reflect the actual probability of the events on which they have betted. So that is one type of harm. The other type of harm is the attack that I have described in fact on the integrity of sport itself. This is a bill that sets out to deal particularly with the second of those problems to defend the integrity of sport and the Green Party is proud to support that intention and will continue to support this bill.It is the second reading so I want to express my thanks to the officials who worked to support the Law and Order Committee. There was good advice from Sport New Zealand. I thank the submitters on the bill. It is interesting to learn here in this debate that actually there was some debate over who would be submitting on that bill and I look forward to hearing more about that matter. I was surprised by the small number of submissions—perhaps that was no coincidence. Maybe that is a topical reference to the subject of this bill.The submissions that we did receive—and I subbed in on the select committee towards the end of its process—were largely supportive of the bill. They made a small number of points proposing changes. For the most part those proposed changes were ones that were unnecessary because the matters raised were already dealt with by law elsewhere or because a deliberate policy choice was being made—and appropriately in my view—to not take that particular course. So for example we have this minor amendment to the Crimes Act rather than specific legislation on match fixing. Another example is the approach to taking a rather narrow focus on particular aspects of match fixing rather than addressing all of the possible aspects. Those were appropriate choices.There are two further points that I want to make. First of all there is one change that was recommended by the select committee and the Minister for Sport and Recreation Jonathan Coleman whom I join with others in congratulating on his appointment to that portfolio. This was around removal of a qualification that was in the original first draft of the bill that could have been used as a defence by those who actually were guilty of match fixing and we certainly support that change to the bill.The other point that I want to place on record is that the view of the select committee—and I take it that it will be the view of this Parliament and therefore I place it into Hansard—is that the intention of this bill is that all of those who are associated with the chain of procurement of match fixing or spot fixing should be captured by the wording of this bill. It is important to state that the Legislation Advisory Committee did raise a doubt as to whether the originator of the procurement of match fixing or spot fixing would be caught by this bill. The advice that the select committee received from prosecuting authorities and from Sport New Zealand and our own analysis was that the bill would be adequate to catch that originator who probably is the most culpable of all of those in the chain but for the avoidance of doubt I want to place that on record in Hansard.So I am looking forward to the Cricket World Cup at the beginning of next year and looking forward in particular to a Cricket World Cup just that little bit more confident that what I will be seeing is a genuine competition in which the Black Caps do as well as they possibly can. Thank you.CLAYTON MITCHELL (NZ First):I rise on behalf of New Zealand First in support of this bill. I would just like to start by acknowledging the people in the gallery who are here today who are clearly sports fans. Colin Charles it is great to see you here. I also want to speak to this bill. Unlike some of the members who have spoken here today I do not have a lot of fluffery and I am not embroiled in some cross-party discussion so I will probably keep it well and truly under my 10 minutes of allotted time.Carmel Sepuloni: Take the 10.CLAYTON MITCHELL: Take the 10 you reckon? Sounds like a bench call. This is an overdue amendment to a piece of legislation that has been around since 1961. It has been wrapped up somewhere under section 240 of the Crimes Act. It is ambiguous at best to know whether match fixing is covered by existing offences in the Crimes Act or not so what better way to ensure it exists than to clearly and concisely put it in.There is only one minor but very important amendment to the bill which I will read out to you now. It says: “… anyone who obtained a benefit or caused a loss by engaging in match-fixing would commit an offence and be liable to a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.” I think that is very very important because New Zealand’s culture is made around sports. We get great pleasure in having discussions at our local pub or around the television on a Saturday night when we watch our favourite matches and our sports games whether it be the Tour de France or an All Blacks game.I think we can all cast our minds back to the many times throughout recent times that have hit the headlines but also going back to 1981 when we had the infamous “underarm incident’ in cricket in the final of the Australia versus New Zealand Benson and Hedges World Series Cup when Trevor Chappell did the nice roll down the road—bowled underarm—for the final ball of the match which of course clearly changed the outcome or potential outcome of that match.In 1995 when the All Blacks were playing the final against South Africa of course we know the outcome of that. The All Blacks were poisoned and the outcome was altered and changed. That gives nobody any pleasure. Whether it is in your local boxing arena on your local rugby field or in a netball game nobody no matter how it fits in likes to see this sort of behaviour taking place.We are a small nation and we have enjoyed great successes in many sports both internationally and nationally. We hold our achievements very dear to us and sport forms a very important cornerstone of our culture. It does not matter whether it is from badminton to boxing rugby to racing or netball to rowing it gives us huge amounts of national pride.Like so many other New Zealanders I believe that lives are enriched through participation in sport and recreation and I wish to acknowledge the many dedicated New Zealanders working within the sporting sector to encourage more Kiwis to participate and ultimately benefit from their involvement in sport.This is why we must protect our sports from any form of mistreatment and why the ethics of sport and good sportsmanship are taught to our youngest right from the start so that we ensure that the moral and ethical values are upheld from the cradle to the grave. Ninety percent of Kiwis spend at least 3 hours a week taking part in sport and this can be increased. But it will be increased only if we have that pride when our youngsters look up to those sporting heroes live by their code of conduct and do not follow any underhandedness.Any negative stigma from match-fixing activities in sports will impact on all those participating and all those spectating from grassroots to the very elite sportsperson—no matter their experience level—right through to the volunteers who are the backbone of New Zealand sport and recreation and keep it all running behind the scenes.Here in New Zealand 50 percent of all adults participate in sports at least once a month and sport makes up $5.2 billion of New Zealand’s GDP. Interpol warns that illegal sports-betting—unregulated fraudulent betting including associated match-fixing activities—is an increasing global problem. It is estimated that such betting generated US$140 billion in 2010. This bill will ensure that we are able to address match fixing here in New Zealand because it is common sense—I just had to throw that in.This bill works alongside New Zealand’s policy on sports match-fixing and related corruption which was released by the Minister for Sport and Recreation in May. This bill is not designed to address every kind of match fixing; it focuses on the most serious kind where the intent is to influence a betting outcome. I would like to say that perhaps this Government could take a leaf out of this legislation too. It touches on what Kris Faafoi was talking about with regard to the whole Dirty Politics scandal and not just that but also in relation to the fixing of the electorate of Epsom creating an MMP—I am out of my scope—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Just bring it back in.CLAYTON MITCHELL: —I will bring it back in. Anyway we commend this bill to the House. Thank you very much.JONATHAN YOUNG (National—New Plymouth):I just want to commend the previous speaker Clayton Mitchell on a very good speech. He brought through some very pertinent points I think that are very important for us to understand because match fixing not only damages the integrity of sport but starts to undermine the very fabric of competition here in our country. We know that as our young people go through those sporting teams and fields through primary school and high school they learn what it is to compete based upon their own merits strengths skills and determination. Those are some of the aspects of the Kiwi way of life that we must protect and enhance. So not only are we dealing with issues around professional sport and international sport but we are also looking at aspects of what makes up the fabric of New Zealand society. I think every single one of us probably has played or continues to play sport appreciates it and supports our sporting teams in our communities. There is something absolutely fantastic and marvellous when two teams get out there and you know that they are giving their best and it is an even playing field—and may the best man or woman win. That is the way we like it and that is the way it ought to be.There are many many aspects to the Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill. Obviously we are bringing this bill to the House—bringing it through quite quickly—because we are co-hosting the Cricket World Cup commencing next year. We want to ensure that that is a fair and good competition that all the world may enjoy and that we protect the integrity of that. I am very happy to support this bill and commend it to the House. Thank you.DENISE ROCHE (Green):I rise to take a short call—Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is a 5-minute call.DENISE ROCHE: —yes thank you Mr Deputy Speaker—for the second reading of the Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill. I was not on the select committee that heard the submissions on this bill. However I do note that the Law and Order Committee received the bill after its first reading on around 30 July and then submissions closed on 22 October which is quite a generous amount of time to call for submissions. I note that we have just had a bill referred to a select committee that has only a 48-hour period for submissions. I am sure that there is a lot more public interest in that bill than there is in this one because—as I have seen in the report from the select committee—there were only four submissions on this bill which indicates I guess that there is quite widespread agreement with the whole thrust of what this bill does.So what does this bill do? Well according to the report from the select committee under this bill anyone who obtained a benefit or caused a loss by engaging in match fixing would commit an offence and be liable to a maximum penalty of 7 years’ imprisonment and we think that is fair. We think that is reasonable. I note also that match fixing applies not just to sports games but also to horse racing. We believe that yes that should be a crime because we are a sporting nation and we uphold the fact that sports should be fair. We believe as a nation in fair play. We are all about fairness or at least we should be. Why should international crime syndicates make millions by rorting the system?I think we should look at what this bill does—who benefits from it. I guess we as a nation benefit from it because we get to keep our reputation and our reputation has taken some beating recently. We are passing bills that sort of degrade our employment rights. We are passing bills that do nothing to lift child poverty. We are doing those sorts of things which do damage our reputation so it is nice to be doing something that does actually support and benefit our reputation.But the other beneficiaries of this bill really are the TAB and the betting organisations. I guess we have to acknowledge that sports betting is the latest gateway drug if you like to problem gambling. The Australian experience—and I have been to a conference on this—is that the TABs over there are targeting younger males. They are doing that by encouraging them to bet on sports to bet on their teams and it is a show of solidarity and support for their teams if they bet on their teams while the game is happening. So we have changed that whole thing about being a supporter of a team from being: “We support you. We’ll talk about the stats of the match.” and now it has become talking about the odds. This has become more and more of a problem and is becoming more and more of a problem because what is happening is that young men are being targeted. They are using their mobile phones to bet immediately on the outcome of a game and this is where the TABs over there are raking in the money because it becomes highly addictive. What the people in the problem-gambling sector say is that the closer to the result that you place the bet then that is where you start to get problem behaviour occurring. It is that whole instant gratification thing.We believe in fair play—we truly do—and we think that we should be having some fairness towards those who actually suffer from the betting sector. I note that although there are a lot of people in this country who gamble—about four out of five people have a flutter—and it is only a small proportion of those people around about 10 percent who are at risk of having problems with their gambling behaviour it is an issue that contributes an enormous amount of money that sloshes around and so it is a honeypot for all sorts of different crimes. That is why we are supporting this bill.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): I call Carmel Sepuloni—5 minutes.CARMEL SEPULONI (Labour—Kelston):I stand to express Labour’s support for this bill. We believe it is important to ensure that we do not have match fixing in sport in this country. New Zealand has a long tradition of good sportsmanship and success most recently demonstrated by Lydia Ko whom I wanted to mention for her win with both the LPGA tour championship and the season-long order of merit on Monday earning her $1.9 million in prize money. We do not want to see match fixing in this country and we are concerned that we are receiving international threat assessments that warn of the increasing risk of crime syndicates and individuals targeting Australasia for sports match-fixing. There have already been high profile match-fixing cases in Australia which we are all aware of here in New Zealand. Match fixing would significantly damage the integrity value and growth of New Zealand sport which contributed $5 billion to our economy in 2008 to 2009.The Crimes (Match-fixing) Amendment Bill will help to address match-fixing risks presented by New Zealand’s hosting of the Cricket World Cup and the FIFA U-20 World Cup. These events will occur over February March and May to June 2015 respectively. Implementing this bill will give New Zealanders some peace of mind in terms of having an assurance that our sports that are being played here are being played cleanly and without the risk of any untoward behaviour or any risks of match fixing basically. The bill is not designed to capture every form of match-fixing activity. It is intended to address the most serious match-fixing activity where influencing a betting outcome is intended by improperly manipulating a sporting match or race. The other types of match-fixing activity are better addressed by a code of conduct or disciplinary procedures by relevant governing sports bodies or by other areas of the general law and we accept that.Match fixing is a fast developing area of law globally. Unfortunately it is an area of law that is necessary. Sport New Zealand will continue to monitor international best practice to cover the non-core activity not dealt with in the bill. The bill inserts new section 240A into the Crimes Act 1961 to make it clear that certain match-fixing activity is a form of deception under section 240. This removes the current uncertainty about whether match-fixing falls within the scope of section 240 of the Crimes Act. The Law and Order Committee received four submissions and made one change amending clause 4 of the bill by removing the words “otherwise than for tactical or for strategic sporting reasons” from the definition of “deception”. Across the House we have heard from the other members of other political parties and it is very clear that this is an issue that we take seriously. As a Parliament and as a country we do not want to see our good name in tatters on the international sports stage as a result of match fixing and with two international contests coming up in the form of cricket and also the FIFA U-20 World Cup we do need to be prepared for that.It will be great to see New Zealand host that Cricket World Cup and the FIFA U-20 World Cup next year. This Government knows I have to add a little bit about match fixing in respect of some of the things that have been going on recently. We do have to make sure that this Parliament is not responsible for presiding over dirty filthy grubby vile sporting operations unlike the way unfortunately that the Prime Minister has presided over dirty filthy grubby vile political operations. I commend this bill to the House.IAN McKELVIE (National—Rangitīkei):I will take just a brief call on this bill but before I get into what I want to talk about I just want to defend our Law and Order Committee chairman Mike Sabin. I think he has done a pretty good job in very tight circumstances and I think the attack on him by the Assistant Speaker from the Labour Party Trevor Mallard was quite unnecessary and in the same tone in fact as the previous speaker’s description of the Prime Minister. I think that if they want to behave like that they deserve it. So I am sorry—Sue Moroney: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The point of order I wish to raise is that when the member spoke about Trevor Mallard’s contribution he referred to him as the Assistant Speaker and of course he was not making that contribution as the Assistant Speaker.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): I thank the member for that. No the member was speaking in his right as a member of Parliament. I would just ask Mr McKelvie to withdraw that comment.IAN McKELVIE: I withdraw that comment. Irrespective of whether the statement was made correctly or not it was an inappropriate comment by the member for Hutt South. I think it is a sad indictment because I think the select committee process held in tight circumstances was very good. I just wanted to comment on a couple of other things. I think that Kevin Hague raised a really interesting issue. I think that the fact that we have diversified gambling I suppose in New Zealand from what was a very simple process at one stage into a very complicated process now is enabling all sorts of other opportunities to occur. We saw this recently with a jockey in the central districts where a diverse form of betting enabled that jockey to bet against himself winning a race. I think that that really exposes the same type of thing that we see with match fixing and that we have seen throughout history with the ability to manipulate events to get a result.I realise that there are a lot of words being said on a very small bill. None the less it is very important and we look forward to the Cricket World Cup in the new year. I also noted in the course of a couple of speeches that both Kris Faafoi and Kevin Hague said they were what they call “cricket tragics”. I seem to have inherited the responsibility for the parliamentary cricket team so I will note those two and they will certainly be called upon in the future. Thank you.MEKA WHAITIRI (Labour—Ikaroa-Rāwhiti):Tēnā koe Mr Assistant Speaker. Tēnā tātou katoa i te Whare nei. I too rise in support of this albeit small bill but none the less very important bill and my contribution is to acknowledge that every Kiwi has a sporting gene in them—Carmel Sepuloni: Especially you.MEKA WHAITIRI: —ha ha—be it as a participant an armchair critic or a supporter. But as mentioned earlier there are also the many managers coaches and administrators who do some amazing things for our sporting bodies throughout the country. So I do want to acknowledge them. There is absolutely no room in New Zealand for match fixing or cheating whatsoever. That is why it is a no-brainer that we stand up and eradicate something that could easily influence or infiltrate our precious sporting systems here in New Zealand.As others have mentioned coming through the sporting system has a way of teaching you and preparing you for many challenges in life. I have been quite fortunate to have represented this country as a netballer and a softballer and I played—[Interruption]; thank you very much—many many years ago. Also I know we are pushing through this particular legislation in anticipation that we are going to have the Cricket World Cup so I do want to acknowledge that I also played representative cricket for Hawke’s Bay way back. I will not tell you the year but I did take on the Indian women’s team. So I say to my fellow colleague there Mr Ian McKelvie: if you want to resurrect the parliamentary cricket team I am sure I can bring out a couple of underarms overarms or whatever else to contribute.On a serious note it is important that we safeguard against any intrusion into our country of what is determined as cheating and match fixing. Like previous speakers have said there are threat assessments warning of an increasing risk of crime syndicates in terms of sports match-fixing particularly in Australia and we only have to reflect on the Cairns family name in cricket. I recall watching the older Mr Cairns—Lance—play. I have memories of him not actually having a bat; he had a club reminiscent of a caveman. I remember watching him with great delight as he almost hit a six for six in an over and thinking: “What a giant of a man.” So it is unfortunate that the Cairns name has been tarnished with the allegations that have occurred under match fixing.We talk about match fixing in terms of the significant damage that it can do to the integrity of our sporting reputation internationally given that sports contributed almost $5 billion to our economy back in 2008-09. I would like to reflect on as has been earlier mentioned the successes of people like Lydia Ko Michael Campbell and Joseph Parker and teams like the Silver Ferns who represent our nation as they take on the wider world. It is important that we do not just uphold our reputation in terms of stamping out a potential wrong that can creep into our sport; it is also about actually preserving and safeguarding our reputation internationally. Therefore we need to be vigilant in this space.The bill will help to address the risks that might occur during next year’s New Zealand Cricket World Cup and the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Both events are coming to our country and I am looking forward to seeing them play in February and March and in May and June respectively. There were some earlier comments made by my colleague Trevor Mallard in terms of the recently victorious display of our rugby league team just down the road here where we unfortunately did not have a Government representative at that game.Hon Trevor Mallard: Very poor.MEKA WHAITIRI: Very very poor. But I was there and I raised the flag. It is a very rare thing to see the Kiwis take on the Aussies and beat them on our own home turf so I do want to acknowledge the success of our New Zealand rugby league team.These are enjoyable times when we as Kiwis can attend sporting events such as the rugby league. I wish I had the same passion as the Silver Ferns at the moment who are going through a bit of a rebuild and a reconnect—[Interruption] Yes well maybe we need to look at the coach but we will leave that for another korero. But seriously I am just—Hon Trevor Mallard: You could swap.MEKA WHAITIRI: No no no. I quite like the job I have got at the moment Trevor thank you very much. There are a lot of sportspeople like I mentioned earlier who dedicate their lives not just in terms of enjoyment of the sport but in terms of success of the sport and the benefits we gain as participants in New Zealand sport cannot be underestimated. Therefore it is like I said important that we see this piece of legislation go through. I look forward to when it comes to the Committee of the whole House stage. At the end of the day it is preserving what we as Kiwis have grown up with and we do not want cheating creeping at all into what we hold very dear and what does create the fabric of our country in terms of the opportunities successes and of course learnings that we get through sport participation.In terms of the parts of the bill specifically I want to make mention of the insertion of new section 240A into the Crimes Act 1961 which is to make clear that certain match-fixing activity is a form of deception under section 240. This removes the current uncertainty about whether match fixing falls within the scope of that part of the Crimes Act. I too want to acknowledge the work of the Law and Order Committee. Obviously I am not a member of that select committee but none the less I want to acknowledge all members in terms of putting up this amendment. As for the submitters I too was hoping that we would have more submissions from across our national bodies. I know this has been pushed ahead simply because of the pending sports fixtures next year but we cannot lose sight that there are opportunities where this kind of practice can creep in. That is what I understand this legislation is going to prevent so we need to take that wide-angle lens and look at not just what occurs on the field and on the court but also what happens on our waterways and on our racing tracks which has been ably covered by the contributors this afternoon.It has been very enjoyable to actually contribute to this bill which goes to the heart of something that I love dearly and like I said that most New Zealanders love dearly. We do not want cheats and we do not want match fixing but we sure as hell do want a fair and equitable chance for all New Zealanders unlike what we have seen in this House this week—the vile and grubby politics that has come from the Prime Minister. Kia ora tātou.TODD BARCLAY (National—Clutha-Southland):I also did not sit on the select committee that considered this bill the Law and Order Committee but it is a pleasure to take a short call in support of it. I also want to echo the sentiments of the previous member who spoke Meka Whaitiri and acknowledge the members who did sit on the select committee and considered the bill given the urgent nature and importance of this piece of legislation. As we have heard from the Minister for Sport and Recreation match fixing has been described internationally as the No. 1 threat to sport today. Match fixing damages the integrity of sport not to mention the fun of it. It is a shame that we are having to consider such a piece of legislation but match fixing does come at a significant cost as outlined previously by some of the members here today and where the International Centre for Sport Security has estimated that over $140 billion has been laundered worldwide per year through match fixing and sport betting.Given the two international events that we are hosting next year as a country our international reputation is also very important and at stake here. It also filters down to a local level where we have got young people and children participating in sport with the hope of potentially being some of our sporting stars of the future and it is teaching them a good example by instituting a high level of integrity at this point. I think we all want honesty and fairness in our sporting matches. If the honesty is taken out of that then there is no real competition and no one would choose to watch a game or participate in one where they knew the fixed outcome. I think we need to protect the sporting industry and protect its integrity and therefore I commend this bill.Bill read a second time.