26 February 2001 Media Statement

Submissions Sought on Gaming

Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon George Hawkins, announced today that a public discussion paper on gaming will be released this Wednesday.

“The purpose of the discussion paper is to help people make submissions to the gaming review and to stimulate constructive public debate on the role that gaming ought to play in New Zealand and the best ways of regulating it,” George Hawkins said.

“The discussion paper will be strictly neutral and will not try to influence people’s opinions in any way.

"The discussion paper will canvass the main issues and raises questions to prompt people’s thinking," George Hawkins said.

Submissions will close on 30 April 2001. This will give the public two clear months to make their views known.

“The Government aims to make decisions on gaming reform by the middle of this year so that we can enact new legislation early in 2002.

“I encourage people to have their say on this important topic”, George Hawkins said.

In addition to being available in booklet form, the discussion paper will also be available from 2:00 pm Wednesday 28 February on the web site of the Department of Internal Affairs at http://www.dia.govt.nz

The web site will also carry the terms of reference for the review and various other papers and links relevant to gaming policy sites.

The public will be able to make submissions in writing or, if they prefer, in electronic form by addressing them to gamingreview@dia.govt.nz

ENDS

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