New Racing Minister ready to crack the whip

The NZ Herald reports that the Labour Government’s support of the racing industry was firmly signalled after its landslide election victory in 2020 and its commitment is ongoing, new Racing Minister Kieran McAnulty has emphasised.

McAnulty achieved a personal goal when he recently took over the role and dismissed any concern racing had a lesser seat at the Cabinet table after succeeding Deputy Prime Minster Grant Robertson.

“I think the signal from the Government was pretty clear after the last election when it kept racing as a separate portfolio,” the MP for Wairarapa said yesterday.

“People suggested that given the Deputy Prime Minister had Sports and Racing that the Prime Minister might want to combine the two.

“She said the Government sees racing as a significant and important industry for New Zealand and it deserves to have its own minister.

“That sends a signal to the industry that this Government, regardless as to who is the minister, takes it very seriously.

“It’s not an also ran, it’s a prominent front-runner. Racing is a significantly important export industry to this country and provides just as much as the fishing industry to our GDP and no one is suggesting we get rid of the Minister for Fisheries.”

McAnulty also has skin in the game having spent seven years as a TAB bookmaker, as an owner and with overseas experience of the industry.

To read the full story, click here.

by NZ Racing Desk, reprinted with permission from the NZ Herald