by Brian de Lore
Published 13th September 2017
Little more than a week before the general election it’s pertinent to examine the racing policies of the three major parties and contemplate the prospect of whether the racing industry will be getting more of the same, or renewed hope under a new coalition government.
After nine years of National government rule and a series of uninspiring Ministers for Racing that have yielded only crumbs to our eroded and sullen industry, is there still faint light at the end of the tunnel?
Or even more optimistically as Oscar Wilde once said: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
What this industry desperately knows is that the decay needs to stop; it needs to cut out the dead-wood; it needs to regroup and reinvigorate the troops and set the ship on a new course towards a port called prosperity.
Not everyone in racing understands or admits that racing has reached a crisis point which must now be arrested before it dives into insolvency. Consider that in 2006 thoroughbred racing had $70 million in cash reserves and $36 million in assets (all sold off). A total of $106 million which today is gone – flittered away!
A decade later, the NZRB is borrowing millions to increase stakes; an olive branch to long-suffering stakeholders well documented in previous stories by this writer. Does it sound like good business practice to be borrowing money to raise stakes for the first time in over 150 years of racing?
So what conclusions do we draw from this? Graph it, and you have an Olympic downhill ski slope. We are assured by NZRB that when race fields legislation does eventually arrive and the promised FOB ‘silver bullet’ is launched the money will flow – but will it?
There is a saying that a cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. And the cynicism oozing from this keyboard certainly concerns the promised value of the FOB. It’s a high-risk promise that may not deliver – but wait; there’s an election next week!
Under MMP the permutations for the final result are wide and varied. The polls have swayed to and fro in a never before experienced pre-election drama involving all the parties and their promises. But we need to know the runners’ form before we bet on either the election quinella or trifecta.
To find out, this week I spoke to the major players – current Minister for Racing David Bennett, Labour’s shadow Minister of Sport and Tourism, Kris Faafoi, and NZ First Leader Winston Peters.
Minister Bennett categorically stated that it’s not the job of the Minister to examine or interfere with the workings of the NZRB, but Faafoi and Peters both took a different stance.
“We are not going to tell the NZRB what to do,” said Bennett when verbalising the National Party racing policy which was still being written this week despite the proximity of the election. “Our policy is due to be released on Thursday, but I can talk now about the four points it contains.
“The first thing is that we see immense potential for the industry going forward. We have that strong Australian market on our doorstep, and we also expect the Asian market to grow exponentially – we think racing is in a very good place for opportunity.
“The second is the race field legislation – we don’t envisage a lot of change or debate around it – in Parliament most parties are supporting it. Everyone wants to see it happen. The Bill itself doesn’t have a lot of clauses in it to amend.
“The third thing is the wider economic and political conditions that exist under a National government. Racing needs a strong economy to support it and we have fundamentally built the best economy in the western world – high growth, low unemployment, very stable interest rates. Those basic economic conditions are very solid.
“The fourth thing is the future. We have a very positive view of where racing is heading. We envisage structural changes but not the NZRB structure as we can’t get involved at that operational level. There may be some opportunities at clubs getting together to align or provide new infrastructure on new investments – we would like to engage in those conversations.”
The Labour Party manifesto of 2017 includes a ‘racing policy’ which more than anything else generalises, acknowledges and commits good intentions rather than specifying the problems and suggesting the fixes.
It’s about supporting race fields legislation, how skilled industry people are and how vibrant the business is and how vital exports are, plus its contribution to the GDP, and how much Labour has done for racing in the past and the recognition for sustainable growth, etcetera.
It’s flowery and tries to say all the right things, but is patently uninspiring and comes from a party that lacks empathy towards an industry it hasn’t had to think much about over the past nine years.
Labour’s two most inspiring paragraphs read: “Recognising that change must come from within, Labour will convene a round-table discussion of major stakeholders in the industry with a view to strengthening and enhancing the economic viability of racing in New Zealand. We will ensure that a strategic direction is developed and implemented.
“Labour recognises the difficulties faced by the racing industry in modernising itself for the 21st century. We will work with all major stakeholders to ensure the revitalisation of a strong economic performer which can do better.”
More impressive than the policy itself is Labour’s shadow racing minister Kris Faafoi, who spoke eloquently in favour of the race fields Bill at its first reading before parliament recessed in August.
“The racing industry has been waiting too long now and deserves to get this done soon,” he said when quizzed on how long we might have to wait on race fields legislation in the event of a Labour-led coalition government.
“We will examine all aspects of racing including the efficiency of the administration at the NZRB and look at helping in any way we can. We will consider all the problems and make every effort to solve them.
“We want to work in the best interests of all people in the industry and particularly those in the majority such as the stable workers, track riders, jockeys and trainers.
“We will not allow sports betting to muscle-in on racing and disadvantage racing’s percentage take,” concluded Faafoi when asked if the amendment to the racing act might work against the percentages returned to racing in the future.”
New Zealand First has a much more detailed and positive racing policy. Two of their 10-point promises include an urgent review of the operations and costs at NZRB and taxation relief. Another is to defend the rightful share of returns from the TAB to racing in the event of sports organisations demanding increased percentages.
“The next minister of racing has got to say they are going to fix this industry and fix it really fast, and that they are not going to be bound by the past or bothered by a conflict of interest,” said Winston Peters this week in obvious reference to the policy of Board member appointments.
“I couldn’t give a hoot what the conflict of interest is as long we make a fist of advancing the interests of this industry and growing it to its total and serious potential as fast as possible.
“The great thing about racing is that if it gets some early positive signals, it will adapt and react really fast. I don’t think most people understand the problem. The racing community that I have talked to all know it’s wrong, but they don’t grasp why it’s wrong, and it’s wrong because of political neglect for decades – they have got to face the facts.
“It’s seriously appalling that the cash reserves that existed a decade ago have since been squandered and frankly I can tell you that I have not put out definitively what will happen. I have one or two things up my sleeve, but I want to say to the industry you have got to give yourselves a break – you have to make up your mind if you want a change, and then if you do you have to start shouting from the rooftops.
“We need a dramatic flush out with the greatest of speed, but the key to it is the moment the election is over, and decisions have been made, and we know who is doing the administration and what needs to be done, the industry is going to have to get a small team together that knows what its objectives are, and that team must involve the most critical person – the owner.
“I can’t believe horse ownership has gone from being a good chance of getting a return after you go to the sales to buy a horse to what we have now. Today the chance of getting a return is a bit like walking into a casino and handing over all your money.
“There is salvation in some highly efficient cost-cutting changes; that’s true, but the second relief you need is some of your tax money back. Unless we do that the industry is less likely to survive – there’s no short-cut to it. “
