I recently wrote to the Minister of Racing, complaining about the poor state of racing in New Zealand. I mentioned Stake Money,Trial Fees and the donation of monies from the TAB into online accounts!!, where does this money come from I wanted to know. Unfortunately in his reply on December 17 2015 he ignored these concerns, but assured me " that the Government has currently no plans to become involved in providing stake money."
He went on to tell me something we all know, that the New Zealand racing industry is very important as it contributes $1.6 billion to New Zealand's GDP and provides the equivalent of some 17,000 fulltime jobs , it appears to me all take and no give, and this is not good enough.(think of the tax take.)
I also asked him whether he wanted to be remembered as useless as his predecssor, he said he is "committed to working with the racing industry to ensure it is sustainable in the long term. and continues to provide an enjoyable and colourful recreation option for New Zealanders ." yeah right!