AUSTRALASIA 52
NEW ZEALAND
NZ race reform loses pace The Minister of Racing is now taking a more cautious approach to reform of the racing industry after intense lobbying from racing clubs, warnings that the reforms are unworkable and signs from his majority coalition partner that it will not support some of the proposed changes.
T
he Minister, Rt Hon Winston Peters, who is also Deputy Prime Minister in New Zealand’s coalition government, commissioned a report on the racing industry from prominent Australian racing identity John Messara. He recommended sweeping changes including stripping the New Zealand Racing Board of most of its powers, leasing out the TAB (which has a monopoly on off track betting) to an Australian operator, closing 28 of the country’s 48 race courses, and devolving power to run thoroughbred, harness racing and greyhounds to the respective codes. Messara found that “on any test, the thoroughbred racing industry in New Zealand today is in a state of serious malaise.” He recommended creating a prize pool of at least NZ$100 million ($67 million) to increase stakes and provide greater returns to breeders funded by tax reductions on the
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industry and selling up racing clubs’ land. The most controversial change was use legislation to take the tracks from clubs, sell the land and invest the money in all weather tracks, better on track facilities and increased stakes.
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We are going to go for broke as much as it possibly can be done.
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When the Messara report was released in August 2018, Peters endorsed it as “ the way forward”, but in a speech to the Thoroughbred Racing Conference late last year, he was more cautious.
Instead of an “Implementation Unit” which was to be set up to drive the changes recommended, he ha s now appointed a Ministerial Advisory Council which “will be charged with setting a sense of direction for the intended racing reforms. It will also report on opportunities and roadblocks to returning the racing industry to a well-managed and sustainable economic growth path.” In his speech, Peters said the government will “stay faithful to the Messara Report. “We are going to go for broke as much as it possibly can be done. He (Messara) will admit… that there are one or two things that we can’t do or we have to tweak or change.” The importance of the phrase “as much as it possibly can be done,” is stressed by critics, and is seen as a softening of stance. One critic told AGB that Peters still wants to be the saviour of New Zealand racing, but is finding that he cannot easily do so through
