by Brian de Lore
Published 22 November 2018
Minister of Racing Winston Peters is back from a busy schedule of overseas events, and with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) having had more than a month to assess the submissions and gauge the feeling of the industry, an announcement is imminent.
In around a week-and-a-half the three codes will be collectively holding their $40 million breath when the TAB is due to switch-on and launch the Fixed-Odds-Betting (FOB) platform, the December 3 rescheduled launch date being its fourth after delays since July.
Four days later on Friday, December 7, the NZRB will hold its AGM at its Petone Offices and release the annual report as late as the day of the meeting itself. The question is, will any stakeholders without any knowledge of the annual accounts be inspired to travel to Petone, on the start of that weekend date so close to Christmas, to attend that meeting?
Straight after that very same weekend on Monday, December 10, the NZTR will hold its AGM. It would be fair to assume that, in the general business part of this meeting, the discussion might centre around the fallout resulting from the Minister’s review of the Messara Report submissions, the success, failure or otherwise of the FOB platform launch and anything else emanating from the NZRB AGM.
Following the NZTR AGM, nothing significant is likely to happen before Christmas, but from mid-February onwards the formation of RITA is expected to be announced by the DIA. But just who will be involved and exactly what RITA’s role will be and the extent of RITA’s powers in its ‘transitional’ duties is still very much a mystery.
Are we closing in on some positive announcements? The jigsaw puzzle that is currently the New Zealand racing industry is poised for more pieces to be inserted with some better news forthcoming because most of these coming events in the space of just three weeks will define this industry’s future.
The industry is desperate for a good story. We are more than a year down the track from an election result which the industry helped achieve, and although things have been slowly progressing in what appears to be a positive direction, no one can say for sure how this will pan out.
About the submissions to the Messara Report, it’s feasible to conclude that every submission will be analysed in a very bureaucratic fashion. Then, the Minister will revert to his initial launch speech of August 30 when he said, “Mr. Messara is an expert in this field, and I am not here to strip this report of its value.”
Afterall, this is politics.
The FOB platform is a far more serious issue than the review of the submissions for the sheer reason of the minimum $40 million investment being at stake. One NZRB employee described the FOB platform as a ‘debacle,’ and although this writer is aware of at least three attempts to live-test it, none of them has been successful.
The industry needs this FOB to work as a repeat of the Typhoon platform would be financially disastrous in every meaning of the phrase. The fallout from another failure would inevitably result in mass resignations from the overstaying board and the management that has been driving it. The week of December 3 through to 7 will be interesting.
If it works and increases profitability to the optimistic budget levels NZRB has forecast then this non-carbohydrate eating writer will be forced to consume a large portion humble pie – at this point, I’m not anticipating any carbo-loading penalties will ensue, though.
By next week it will be almost four months since John Messara completed his much-lauded report and handed it to the Minister, and nearly three months since it was launched amid some fanfare at the Claudelands Convention Centre in Hamilton.
Knowing Messara, it is very much in the man’s make-up to work fast and efficiently and go to the next level as soon as he can. That’s why he wrote in his report at the end of the summary, “I suggest that implementation of the reforms begins with the appointment of members to the NZRB, pending the necessary changes in legislation.
“A clear mandate should be given to the board to drive the reforms through the system with a sense of urgency. Further, I would recommend the establishment of a board sub-committee whose only task will be to progress the wagering outsourcing opportunity.”
This was just one of several recommendations contained in his report that could have been acted upon immediately but for which the Minister preferred to slow the process down and keep everything at typical parliamentary process pace. Two others that could have already commenced include the Performance and Efficiency audit of NZRB and the initiation of the review of the RIU and allied integrity bodies.
The Messara Report is worthy of continual review and re-reading solely because it’s lost impetus due to non-activity since August 30. It is imperative to read it through it several times to comprehend Messara’s assertion that it’s an overall plan, threaded together by a suite of 17 recommendations that work in harmony with one another but would be vastly less effective through cherry-picking.
Highly pertinent conclusions Messara drew and wrote into his report include, “The decline of the New Zealand thoroughbred industry has occurred over a long period, steadily eroding the confidence of participants. That confidence is at a tipping point, causing reduced commitment to investment in racing and breeding and the continuing loss of key participants. In my view, the New Zealand thoroughbred industry is now at risk of suffering irreparable damage.
“In May 2017 Deloitte conducted an ‘Options Analysis’ for NZTR which indicated that an outsourcing agreement would generate significant potential benefits. In my view, these benefits may be sufficient, if added to the positive financial outcomes generated by other recommendations in the Review, to enable New Zealand stake money to be doubled.”
The lessons to be taken from these two statements lies in the phrases ‘tipping point ‘and ‘stake money to be doubled.’ The industry is close to the edge of the cliff, but Messara is also saying that if we took notice of the Deloitte findings and married that analysis into his 17 recommendations, then prizemoney could be doubled.
Why did those who protested loudest about the report not grasp those statements and run with them, rather than adopt that provincial mindset that forever arises when saying, “close whatever venues you like but not ours?”
The industry continues to argue the pros and cons of synthetic tracks and targeted venue closures instead of championing this further excerpt from the report: “The single most effective lever available to reinvigorate the New Zealand thoroughbred industry is prizemoney. It rewards and supports owners, trainers, jockeys, stablehands, and the entire supply chain including vets, farriers, feed merchants, etc.”
Messara has always said, “one man can change the world,” and his strong views on getting the right personnel into the right jobs resonates with this report excerpt: “I am confident that with strong leadership, and the support and commitment of all sectors, organisations, and participants, the industry can be turned around and achieve sustainability with consequential favourable impacts on the New Zealand economy.”
The Minister could do a lot worse right now than to ‘hand the baton’ to Messara and ask him to enact his report which is surely the blueprint of New Zealand’s racing future. If it isn’t, then what is? No other plan exists.
That appointment could kick-start all matters not requiring legislation to commence the restructuring process. No one person could execute the recommendations better than the author himself who alongside Peter V’landys has done it all before when that duo drove Racing NSW to its current level of success.
And on structure, to conclude, Messara’s report didn’t mince his words in saying, “…we do not feel that the current structure of the NZRB is conducive to the efficient regulation of the racing industry or the maximisation of wagering revenue because of conflicting priorities. In addition, the structure does not place a sufficient level of accountability on the NZRB.”
