politics

Countdown on for Racing Industry Bill submissions

/ Mezzasez

As we count down to the final date for submissions on the Racing Industry Bill it is becoming clear that few of those expressing a view on its contents have actually read it.

Distressingly, those same people also seem unfamiliar with the contents of the Messara Report thus it is incredibly simple to flannel them into believing that the proposed Bill delivers what Messara promised.

One of the results of this is people posting misinformation on racing chat sites which is then swallowed as gospel by those who have neither read nor understood any of what was originally proposed.  The old saying about a lie travelling halfway round the world before the truth has its boots on, has never been more apt.

During the past week the RITA roadshow has been chugging around the country to ease the fears of the racing industry when it comes to the contents of the Bill.  Unfortunately, that task has meant they have had to work to defend the indefensible.

No one with skin in the game would believe that those with racing’s best interests at heart would have supported the mangling of some of the clauses of the current Bill to the extent that the intent of the Messara Report has been neutered.  So if the Racing Minister, who delivered us Messara, and the RITA Board, which the Minister appointed to drive those recommendations through, had the right intentions, the derailing of those intentions has to lie with DIA.

The DIA officials can be forgiven for not understanding the intricate workings of the racing industry, there are some who pontificate loudly through online chat rooms who have still yet to learn the differences between the code bodies and the former NZRB/current RITa set ups!

But where they have failed us all, is by continuing down the nanny-state knows best line and, presumably against the urgings of the RITA Board, over-riding those concerns by applying multiple Ministerial handbrakes.  While they might have felt that level of Ministerial involvement in the inner-workings of the industry (appointments to the TAB Board, and approval of any joint-venture partnering of the TAB for example) was necessary, it is diametrically opposed to the fundamental thrust of the Messara Report.

Let’s not mince words, what we have now is broken.  Patching it back together with cherry-picked portions of the Messara Report and a solid dose of random sections of the old Racing Act is not going to get this industry off life-support.

But while it is widely agreed that the Bill is not fit-for-purpose in its current state, it is not beyond redemption.  The codes and RITA continue to work on reaching agreement on a number of clauses, as outlined in the handouts at this week’s RITA meetings around the country.  In addition to this, there is a surprising level of agreement around the country, cross-code and at all levels of involvement, as to which areas of the Bill fall into the non-negotiable area.

With a tick over two weeks left before submissions close on Tuesday 11 February everyone with an interest in the future of the racing industry in New Zealand should be putting pen to paper (or better still go here and click on the green button which says “I am ready to make a submission” and submit online).

Your submission doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, just clearly express your concerns.  If you, like me, are worried that the Bill in its current format, has lost the essence of the Messara Report recommendations then say so.  Your submission should also include some detail around your involvement within the industry – owner, breeder, trainer, jockey, stablehand, administrator, punter – many of us can tick a number of those boxes.

I would especially encourage those in the younger brigade who are at the early stages of their careers to make sure they submit and also to make sure they state they also wish to make an oral submission.  The grey-heads will be out in force – mainly because most have lived through a similar process in 2003 and realise the importance – but the Select Committee needs to hear from those who need this industry to survive if they are to have a career in it.

We have an opportunity to get this Bill back on track, it is our responsibility to see that the Select Committee is aware of our concerns and  the need to address them.

Industry blueprint unrecognisable in Racing Industry Bill

/ Mezzasez / 3 Comments

Towards the end of last year, I was gently scolded by a gentleman who has been a constant presence in the industry for as long as I have been involved.  He wanted to know what had happened to this blog, why I wasn’t writing and whether I had been effectively “gagged.”

To be honest what had really happened was that I had lost motivation, as I could see things beginning to evolve following the release of the Messara report and the passing of the Racing Amendment Act, the industry did appear to be progressing.  While the pace of the progress was not ideal, I was prepared to err on the side of the old Mainland cheese advert, “good things take time.”

Given the time between the release of the Messara Report (30 August 2018 for those who need reminding) and the appearance of the Racing Industry Bill I was expecting a well-crafted document.  Unfortunately, what did finally emerge looked as though it had been put together by a bunch of people with little familiarity with the industry; how it currently works; and what Messara intended.

A mishmash of cut-and-paste from the existing Bill and garbled interpretations of what was a very clearly articulated blueprint of how things should look, there appear to be so many fingerprints on this Bill it would be difficult to pin the crime on one culprit.

That lengthy preamble is what passes as an explanation as to why I have breathed life back into this blog.  I am motivated to ensure that as many people as possible are aware of the yawning difference between what Messara created and what the bureaucrats have delivered.

I keep coming back to the fact that in the Messara Report we had a blueprint.  The Minister then applied due diligence appointing the Ministerial Advisory Committee (MAC) to run a ruler over the Messara Report.  Subsequently we ended up with RITA, the Racing Industry Transition Agency which was intended to maintain BAU as the industry moved from the horrors of the past to a brave new world.

My fellow blogger Brian de Lore provided a handful of the Racing Minister’s better comments from his speech in Hamilton at the launch of the Messara Report and I recommend you read that here.  However, there were a few others which provide a reminder of how the Minister saw the industry at that time.

“If you think I’m a harbinger of doom of gloom, read the Racing Board’s annual report out this year,” he stated.

“Here is a fact. This year a three-year revolving debt facility was established to supplement the NZRB balance sheet.

And total equity is budgeted to decline by $15.6 million this year.”

So that is where we were and what John Messara gave us was a map out of the NZRB-created maze into what promised to be a utopia.  Armed with that document one could be forgiven for thinking there was a glimmer of light at the end of the interminable tunnel we have been negotiating. And then the tinkering began and with the release of the Racing Industry Bill it was apparent that the wheels had well and truly fallen off.  Somewhere along the line the Messara Report had been hijacked and it would seem that whoever stuck their oar in was limited in knowledge of the industry, how it functioned and why Messara flagged the changes he did.

A very wise racing administrator, on first viewing of the Racing Industry Bill, told me his one recollection from his school days and his Tech Drawing class was that when one started to remove elements from a blueprint then it impacted on the integrity of the structure.  And that is what the gang of Bill writers, or those who influenced them, achieved.

What we have now bears a resemblance to the Messara report in much the same way that Bold Personality bore a resemblance to Fine Cotton.

Those with a desire to see this industry grow and thrive need to familiarise themselves with the key clauses of the Racing Industry Bill and how they create a very different final outcome to that predicted by Messara.  And please, don’t just read the Explanatory Note at the beginning and think you’ve got it covered.  It paints a picture so different from the Bill that it is clear the writers of each had possibly never been introduced.

Once au fait with the Bill and how it is written compare the significant areas around code functions, governance and appointments to the TAB, not to mention government interference, with the intention of the Messara Review’s recommendations.  A simple submission could be created purely around those issues.

The industry (not to mention others who believe themselves impacted) has until 11 February to make submissions.  It also must mobilise and unite as never before to ensure their local MP (in this election year) is well aware of our views.

 

Racing Reform Bill out of the gates

/ Mezzasez

If you ever wanted to know just how the racing industry is perceived by those who run the country, then tuning into watch proceedings in parliament on Tuesday would have left you with a clear picture.

From being an industry where most of those stalking the corridors of power had at least some passing interest, racing has declined to something from the dim distant past. Most of those speaking were left scrambling to find a tenuous racing tale to demonstrate their connection.  And that was just those on the government’s side of the House.   The Nats, once natural bedfellows of the racing industry, showed a mixture of relief that they no longer had to deal with the seemingly, never-ending demands from the racing brigade and outright antipathy.

The occasion was the first reading of the Racing Reform Bill which is being fast-tracked through select committee and scheduled to be reported back to the House by 11 June.  If you’ve read the RRB and have any thoughts about making a submission to select committee then you will need to be quick.  That window of opportunity, currently open, will slam shut on Tuesday 4 June – the initial date was Monday until someone realised it was a public holiday.

While long-time watchers of the theatre which surrounds our law-making will have seen through much of the posturing and playing of roles on Tuesday, the uninitiated were possibly left astounded.

Here I have to confess that I have, on occasion, watched Question Time at parliament purely for the amusement value.  But the amusement value on Tuesday was limited due to the fact they were talking about something close to my heart.

Even knowing that everyone in the House was playing a role, and  the arguments were focused on not giving a sucker and even break (with the sucker being those on the other side) rather than doing anything to advance the cause of the racing industry, it was not an easy watch.

Make no mistake, politicians don’t particularly like the racing industry. Not all of them are as honest as Gerry Brownlee who described racing as “dull” but scratch any of the hokey old stories told to demonstrate some form of kinship with the industry and you will find a card-carrying opponent to our industry.

Sure, they will show up when they have too – usually around election time, but they would rather have nothing to do with us.

It wasn’t always so.  Back in the ancient past – around the time of the formation of the TAB, whose ownership Mr Brownlee is so keen to determine, many MPs were prominent racehorse owners.

One of the Wellington Cup winners (at Trentham, the track whose name Mr Brownlee struggled to recall) that my grandfather trained was owned by the then-Speaker of the House Sir Matthew Oram.

It made sense for MPs to have some involvement in racing, given that at the time the local racecourse was the perfect place to meet with a wide range of one’s constituents.  This continued to be the case through to the early 1980s.  Former MP Marilyn Waring, while revisiting the fight to get female jockeys licensed, told me she was a regular attendee at the Waipa races during her time in parliament for that very reason.

The world has moved on and politicians have no real need for racing any more.  Of course, the industry itself is not blameless when it comes to the disconnect between the industry and all-but-Winston.

Who wouldn’t lose patience with an industry which, despite numerous Royal Commissions, Reviews and Recommendations designed to drag it (kicking and screaming) into a bright new future, managed to find new and different ways to muck things up?

Is it any wonder the politicians manage to side-step any possible engagement with industry representatives when they are constantly presented with problems and never solutions?

The industry has a long history of shooting itself in the foot with politicians.  Bad mouthing them and their efforts to drag the industry out of the mire and then acting surprised when future efforts to get alongside said politician are met with the cold shoulder.

Racing administrators have, over the years, behaved like that annoying whiny kid-adult who having left home years earlier still can’t understand why his parents won’t keep funding his lifestyle.

Presumably the Racing Reform Bill will get across the line in the prescribed (truncated, according to the Nats) time-frame and we will be off into another brave new future with any amendments or changes agreed upon throughout the process.

While there were some cringe-making comments during Tuesday’s first reading Gerry Brownlee, despite his apparently loathing of racing, did also offer a credible piece of insight into what has helped stymie the industry over the years.

“I think every effort that they’ve made, commendable as it is, falls short because the industry itself have never been prepared to take into their number—to put on their boards, to bring into their fold—people who have a bit of an entrepreneurial bent and a considerable love for the horse racing sport,” he said.

Gerry, you said a mouthful!

 

Opinion writers and protesters take pot shots at racing

/ Mezzasez

One of my pet peeves has often been the lack of racing coverage in the general media.  However, over the past week I am wondering whether sometimes it might be better to keep our heads below the parapet given the pot shots fired our way.

On Tuesday The Spinoff provided an interesting take on the Messara report which proved the dangers of people pontificating when they have no understanding of wagering or the structure of the racing industry.

Having read (and obviously not understood) the Messara report the writer, a university student/actor Joseph Plunket, makes the following claims:

”The racing industry wants New Zealanders gambling like Australians, and spending more on horse and dog racing, as well as the myriad of other TAB wagering opportunities. For this troubled industry, the solution appears to lie in the exploitation of problem gamblers.

A majority of those who gamble might be able to do so safely, but the racing industry ultimately relies upon addiction in order to prosper. The characterisation of ‘just having a punt’ trivialises a serious issue which impacts families and communities across the country.

Why is our government seeking to reform and revitalise an industry which provides largely for an elite – those who own and breed racehorses – when it comes at the direct expense of the general public?”

I’m not sure where he got his information from regarding the industry relying on addiction to prosper, but the choice of the word “prosper” indicates he has absolutely no knowledge about the current state of the industry.

He talks about the need for the industry to have a greater commitment to problem gambling with his evidence for the requirement for this based on what one might see when they “walk into any suburban or rural pub in the country.”

Considering finding a TAB in any pub, be it suburban or rural, has become increasingly difficult over the years I’d love to know where he has managed to find enough outlets to witness this rampant problem gambling.

Towards the end of his diatribe about the evils of gambling he does ‘fess up that “it is difficult to establish the extent to which gambling addiction is a problem in New Zealand.”  He adds that stats show a decrease in the number of new “clients” of both the Gambling Helpline and the Ministry of Health.

Then he shoots himself in the foot with the following: “In the financial year 2016/17 gamblers in New Zealand spent $125 million more than the previous year. The overall amount gambled between the TAB, Lotteries Commission, gaming machines and casinos was $2.334 billion. Of the four forms, the TAB was the only one to experience a downturn during this period.”

I did wonder why the Lotteries Commission and gaming machines didn’t come under fire, especially given that these forms of gambling have been tagged in a recent study into problem gambling in Pacific Island families.

Obviously, that would not have allowed the writer to arrive at his desired conclusion which has the Minister for Racing propping up his mates in racing.  Described by this very earnest young man as “an exploitative and declining industry.”

Demonstrating that his only exposure to racing appears to be through the TAB’s advertising (“You’re in the game”) he also assumes John Messara’s comment “We need to keep people in the game” refers to betting.  Anyone familiar with the Messara report recognises that statement as being reference to keeping participants involved in the industry.

The full quote from the launch of the Messara report was: “My review includes a series of reforms that I believe will enable a doubling of stakesmoney.  And that increase needs to be right through the system – from the smallest races right up to the group and listed programme.  We need to keep people in the game.”

Perhaps a little more research and maybe even talking to some of the people who rely on the industry for their living might have given Joseph a more balanced perspective, but where’s the shock value in that?

Interestingly, the day after this piece appeared on The Spinoff one of the struggling MediaWorks re-branded outlets, Magic Talk, also slammed racing.

This afternoon host, Sean Plunket, shared his opinion about our industry with his national audience – thankfully, not a very large one.

It would seem both the Plunkets have taken very strongly against racing for some reason.

Perhaps their next steps will be to join the tens of protesters aligned with Australia’s Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses at their next New Zealand protest.  Apparently, this group will be back at Trentham this Saturday – obviously unaware of the fact that industry attention will be firmly focused on Ellerslie for the Karaka Million races.

I have been told there is no arguing with these protesters and perhaps they feel the same way because this week’s, like last Saturday’s where a dozen protesters managed to ensure television news coverage, is a silent protest.

Of interest the NZ arm of this group seems to have deviated somewhat from the core belief in Australia.  The invitation to the protest reads:

Our focus will be on how gambling ruins families and lives. We will also be raising awareness about the horse cruelty that takes place, before, during and after the races. Posters will be provided.

While there is apparently, no reasoning with protesters who are convinced of this cruelty – despite no actual evidence – I would just like to ask them to watch the last race at Avondale on Wednesday.

Pay attention of the antics of Flying Trapeze, a horse I have a minuscule interest in, particularly once he manages to rid himself of the encumbrance of jockey Jason Waddell.  If, as the protesters tell us, horses are “forced” and “whipped” to race how do they explain Flying Trapeze working himself up through the field until he is challenging for the lead at the turn?  If horses hate racing so much then, given the opportunity to escape, surely he would have headed for the nearest exit?

While it was a disappointing result as an owner, I did have to laugh.  Our perennial maiden did enough to ruin the photo for the eventual winner and still ran second!