Brownlee Gerry: Major Events Management Bill — Second Reading 
Brownlee Gerry: Major Events Management Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:641;Page:10885] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) 
: 
 I am very happy to follow the Minister for Sport and Recreation this evening in making positive comments about the Major Events Management Bill. I did note one particular comment by the Minister that I think was a little unfortunate but it probably leads me to say that had it not been for the National Party input on this bill it would not be the fine piece of work that it currently is. 
One of the great things about this bill is that it is essentially a celebration of what New Zealand can be what New Zealand should aspire to and what New Zealand can achieve. There are aspects here that some people have objections to but if they were to really think about the best interests of this country then many of those objections would fall to one side. I want to refer to a couple of the objections that have been mentioned by the Minister that I think deserve additional comment from us. 
The first is the issue of ambush marketing. It would be putting one’s head in the sand for anyone to think that there are not commercial costs involved in running events such as the Rugby World Cup the Cricket World Cup or even the golden oldies cups which are available in a range of sports and for which thousands and thousands of people come to this country. I imagine that an event that took place a couple of years ago the World Firefighters Games would probably be captured by legislation like this. These are events for which a lot of people choose to come to New Zealand not only to participate but also to see what is happening. So the events are very very important to this country’s economy if we remember that we are now dependent on tourism for 40 percent of our domestic economy when it comes to services and other ancillary arrangements around the tourism industry. So ambush marketing is a very important aspect of this bill because none of these events take place without a cornerstone sponsor—without some organisation with international reach saying its reach can be expanded by virtue of its association with a particular event. 
One of the interesting things during the select committee process was that a number of us were a little sceptical about the whole aspect of ambush marketing. We asked I think quite appropriate questions of those who were in support of the provisions in this bill and were given answers that were more than adequate. The one that sticks in my head is the issue that was put in front of us around the last soccer world cup where one airline had spent literally tens of millions of dollars promoting that event making sure it was successful and minimising the cost for all those many spectators who turned up to the games to watch those events and to enjoy the experience of such a big occasion in their country. But that airline was denied the full benefits of those many millions of dollars that had been put into sponsoring the event by virtue of the fact that another airline chose to paint the nose of its plane in the image of a soccer ball. In other words another airline associated itself with the event without facing any of the costs involved. That we might say in relation to a sporting bill is not cricket. 
Essentially the ambush marketing provisions in this bill make sure everybody— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: A bit of a Hawke’s Bay approach you’re saying to me. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: It was a Cantabrian approach actually I tell Mr Mallard and he will know what a fine province we are and what a huge record we have for playing cricket to the highest levels and with the greatest success against the rest of the nation and indeed many international touring teams. But that diverts me from the point. 
The point is that if an organisation chooses to support an event and the benefit of that choice accrues to a large number of people the question arises as to why someone else should be able to piggyback on the back of that and take benefit from it. The provisions in the bill around ambush marketing effectively deal with that situation. The idea that the corner dairy close to the venue that advertises a pie and Coke as such shops always do on the blackboard outside will be penalised under this particular legislation is quite wrong and many extrapolations of that example are also wrong. The legislation is about a direct association with the event for that purpose. 
I think in that regard the law that will now be put in place to deal with pitch invasion is extremely important as well. Pitch invasion although it may well be transgression on to the pitch can also be in the form of an ambush marketing type of arrangement where for example someone takes footage of the pitch for a payment places it on YouTube and it attracts many many viewers. That would be equally wrong. In this case also if people choose to go to a venue and disrupt the activity that is taking place there albeit for what they perceive to be some pretty important humanitarian reason that transgresses against the wishes the desires and the rights of the many people who pay for tickets to go to the particular venue to enjoy a particular entertainment—in this case whatever the major event might be. Therefore I think it is appropriate that we have that particular provision in the bill. 
I was fascinated by the Minister’s reference to bottle throwing given the Minister’s past references to bottles and activities that might transpire. I say that in the context of a remark the Minister made that I found particularly unsavoury—his particular comment—but I will go no further than that. 
One thing that was quite interesting to me and to a number of other people on the select committee was to learn how big these events can be for New Zealand. In the case of the Rugby World Cup for example—and it would be true I suspect for the Cricket World Cup also which will follow not too many years after it and for any other events that will be captured by this bill—the size of the audience is enormous. 
Steve Chadwick 
: The parliamentarians’ rugby game. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: My colleague over there has mentioned the parliamentary rugby team and I can tell her that a particular entry on YouTube at the moment is getting an enormous number of hits. I suspect that the person who is the subject of that particular piece of footage has a very big career in front of him and I want to say publicly at this stage to Graham Henry and his fellow selectors—my good friend Steve Hansen my old teaching associate Wayne Smith and of course Mr Henry himself—that I remain ever available should they require those services. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Well Somerville’s not looking good. If I were you I’d be waiting for the call. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: The member is right—Greg Somerville is not looking too good. Greg Somerville lives in my constituency. I am a huge fan of his and I hope he makes a satisfactory recovery. I noticed over the weekend that Neemia Tialata whom I also have a great deal of time for is a little bit suspect so we never know our chances in a big event like the Rugby World Cup! 
But let me just get back to the point of the bill and that is that this country spends an enormous amount of money—quite appropriately in my view—trying to promote the tourism industry which is now so much part of our economy. We celebrate the fact that we got through a rough period economically because of  
The Lord of the Rings 
 films and I think that is good. But we must realise that the number of people who will turn on TV sets go to the Internet or go to any other media arrangement that allows them to view or to understand the Rugby World Cup is tens of thousands greater than the number who will ever watch  
The Lord of the Rings 
 or ever take a look at many of the other sporting events this country is well known for. 
All in all this is legislation that in my view makes a positive statement about the future of New Zealand and makes a huge contribution towards a sustained economy at the highest levels inside New Zealand. It also I think tells New Zealanders that we in this country can do what anyone else anywhere in the world can do not only just as well but perhaps even better. National is delighted to support the bill. Thank you.