by Brian de Lore
Published 7 June 2019
“The problems in racing are going to be solved at a higher level,” said Winston Peters almost two years ago when in opposition and while on the campaign trail in the first week of August 2017, two months before the last General Election.
“By that I mean a new government and a Minister of Racing changing the legislative structure from top to bottom, and changing the financial structure as well so that this industry comes back to being a paying proposition for the owner.
“The owners are critically the most important people, and you will revive the racing industry when you get a system that makes it worthwhile for the owner to be part of the industry. That means prizemoney. There is also gross waste with massively over costed administration.”
Fast forward 22 months and the Minister is now delivering those promises as we close in on Racing Reform Bill No 1, and a change of governance with RITA (Racing Industry Transition Authority) taking over from the disbanding NZRB on July 1st.
MAC (Ministerial Advisory Committee) comprises of Dean McKenzie (Chair), Sir Peter Vela, Liz Dawson (ONZM), Kristy McDonald (QC, ONZM) and Bill Birnie (CNZM). These five people have been receiving unqualified praise from the Minister, the NZ-First office and DIA with whom they have worked tirelessly for five months on prioritising the Messara Report and bringing racing to the threshold of massive change.
A source from within the NZ-First office yesterday confirmed they are very appreciative of the work conducted by MAC and described them as a ‘fantastic group; having worked incredibly well together, and incredibly fast under the very challenging timeline they were given.’
That same source also revealed that all five that comprise the MAC had agreed to come across as RITA, but a sixth person would also be added to the mix to supplement the existing skill-set in MAC. The sixth person under APH (Appointments and Honours Committee) gender equality regulations must be a female.
A seventh position is in abeyance until they find someone with a specific skill set. The source did not reveal the nature of the skill-set, but it would be surprising if it’s not someone with extensive experience in wagering – a large part of increasing the revenue is in the know-how of negotiating the best deal in outsourcing the TAB.
The Minister’s office doesn’t feel they are under any pressure to appoint the seventh board member and will not do so until that person emerges. But finding a New Zealander with a deep knowledge of wagering is nigh-on impossible; when the appointment is imminent, they will almost assuredly be seeking an Australian.
Who the sixth appointment in RITA will be will not be known until a Cabinet meeting the week after next. On Tuesday APH will consider the nomination(s) and make a decision which can only be confirmed and made public with rubber stamping by Cabinet.
Remember, RITA will be in existence for only 12 months, or thereabouts. Some industry stakeholders have voiced fear from the extensive powers given to DIA and the Minister over the RITA, but in the transition period with substantial legislative changes and some tough decisions to be made it seems a logical move on the journey to form WNZ (Wagering NZ) and RacingNZ.
When that change of governance structure occurs, racings responsibilities then devolve to the individual codes and with income streams certain to be in a much healthier state thanks to racefields, POC (Point of Consumption) levy and outsourcing of the TAB, the Minister and the DIA will then take a step back and let racing run itself.
The broad, long-term vision the Minister outlined for racing before the last general was for legislation that would serve the industry ad-infinitum and be in place in 30 and 40 years hence for the then Minister, whoever that be.
The thought that the Minister and/or DIA would continue to hug the steering wheel is a concept that has only been promoted by the fearmongers and is nowhere to be found in MAC’s 123-page Interim Report or the Messara Report.
Apart from the anomalies and arguments which have arisen over the issue of venues, and some questions over outsourcing which still requires a lot of investigation, RITA is being sworn in to get the Messara recommendations done and dusted for a much brighter racing future.
Racing Reform Bill No.1’s closure date for submissions was on this past Tuesday, 4th June. Forty-six were received in total including 14 from various sporting entities. The submission from Sport New Zealand which supported the Bill which was acknowledged in a NZ-First press release on Wednesday.
The Minister praised Sport NZ by saying, “It was encouraging that Sport NZ sees the potential for increased revenue flowing to sport as a result of the Racing Reform Bill.”
Peters was referring to the fact that both Racing Reform Bill’s 1 & 2 are structured to greatly increase the return to all sporting codes with the creation of larger revenue streams, a point seemingly missed in the submissions of those sporting bodies putting their hand out for a higher percentage take.
Checking with the Australian arrangement for returns to sport through TABs and corporate bookmakers, it’s interesting to note that New Zealand returns more to sport on a percentage basis than any state in Australia, and a former Tabcorp employee rated the New Zealand TAB financial treatment of sport as ‘generous and one of the best in the world.’
Wednesday’s press release also referred to the Nikki Kaye debacle speech in parliament last week with the Minister saying, “National’s Nikki Kaye has been leading a fear campaign against the Bill, one which had no basis in fact nor support from her own caucus colleagues.
Peters then added, “The best response to Nikki Kaye’s politicking was delivered by Sport NZ today during their oral submission when they said: ‘It’s a good day for racing and a good day for sport,’”
NZ-First also confirmed that every schedule had been met, to date, and a report from the Select Committee which is due this coming Tuesday will be delivered, and they will confirm the legislation with only minor tinkering and amendments to tidy up the language.
Dissention within the National Party Caucus is apparent with both Bennett and McKelvie privately supporting the Bill. National may yet try to slow the process down with the introduction of some SOPs (Supplementary Order Papers).
But the Coalition has a solid majority which was very evident with the Green’s supporting the Bill during the speeches and voting with the government and against all the National amendments in the that forgettable debate last week.
NZ-First made no secret of the Minister’s delight to have the support of the Green Party, given the flimsy behaviour of the National party – long live the Greens
