“Absolutely Central” Political Storting in Saving Millions for Equestrian Sports – Board Assignment – VG

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– Lauvås is a vital member and someone you can trust in all contexts. My members won’t forget the efforts he made for us, Weum said in 2020.

Lauvås has now become the deputy leader of the Norwegian parliament, a position for which he receives 150,000 Norwegian kroner per year. Trav365 previously mentioned the position of the board and the amount of the commission.

– I have tried to make it open, honest and orderly in every way and to the best of my ability. I support everything I’ve done, says Lauvås when VG meets him at Oslo’s Bjerke Trotbane.

– I don’t want to put myself, the Storting, my own party, the Norwegian Rikstoto or the Norwegian Trotting Society in a bad light. The intention was to do something good and ensure that a cultural tradition and an industry that generates around 16,000 man years have good framework conditions.

All Storting representatives must declare their positions and interests in a register. The AP politician took office on June 1. However, the office of deputy is not registered latest versionfrom 22 June.

Lauvås claims he attempted to register it on June 9 this year, but due to an error he did not complete the registration process and discovered and corrected it in August. Storting confirmed to VG that Lauvås submitted new information on 21 August.

– No connection

Lauvås confirms that he was involved in the work for the abolition of the totalisation tax, but points out that he was involved in the conditions of various industries.

– You have been given the honor of saving over 100 million horse racing. Soon after, you get a position that gives you NOK 150,000 in annual salary. Is there any link?

– No, absolutely no. It was the Solberg government that came up with the proposal to remove the tax, Lauvås says.

– How do you think it is?

– There was no connection. The request if I wanted to run for the Norwegian National Assembly came a long time after the decision to remove the totalizator tax, so it has no connection.

“I will contribute with the network of contacts”

The AP politician is himself amateur pilotwas a strong promoter of equestrian sport in Storting and started the Equestrian Support Association, which has around 20-25 representatives as members.

I the settings on the board of Norsk Rikstoto, it is noted that “Lauvås will contribute with a network of contacts towards the government and Storting” – that is, his parliamentary colleagues and party colleagues in government.

– This means that the horse industry must comply with the laws and rules set by Parliament and the government. And after a long life in politics, I have some understanding of this system. I hope to contribute to the Norwegian parliament in this way, says Lauvås.

– I worked on it

He believes that the framework conditions for equestrian sport will improve without the totalizator fee.

– I’ll be honest enough to say that yes, I’ve worked on it, but it’s not certain that we would have achieved success if the industry hadn’t suffered a setback due to the crown, he says.

There was no personal advantage in eliminating the tote tax on my part. I think it’s good that the question is being asked, and I tried to gauge whether there were problematic aspects of this or something that couldn’t stand up in the light of day. I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t.

It is the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (LMD) that appoints the board members of the Norwegian National Diet. But according to the foundation’s current statute, at least four of the board members and alternate members must be appointed on the proposal of Det Norske Travselskap and Norsk Jockeyklubb.

– I was contacted by the president of Det Norske Travselskap, Erik Skjervagen, who asked me if I would like to be interviewed by the selection board, says Lauvås.

It was Det Norske Travselskap who in 2020 gave credit to the PA politician for the abolition of the totalizator tax. It is LMD that determines the size of the board’s commissions.

– Have you discussed this with anyone else in the Labor Party?

– Yes, I really did. I checked this with party secretary Kjersti Stenseng and parliamentary leader Rigmor Aasrud, Ap-han says.

Lauvås sent the two party leaders an email, in which he told them about the request of the nominating committee in the Norwegian Rikstoto and asked them to report if there was a problem.

At VG, Aasrud ​​says that Lauvås has long been passionate about sport and responsible gaming and that he will do a good job in his role.

– It is not against current regulations to hold such positions and many other Storting politicians have similar roles, says Aasrud.

Swedish scandal

In Sweden, Member of Parliament Saila Quicklund made headlines after receiving over SEK 200,000 for a position on the board of the Svensk Travsport organization. At the same time, you talked about the trot in the Riksdag. Quicklund resigned from his posts later The popularization of Swedish radio.

– What is the difference between Quicklund’s case and yours?

– I only know about the Quicklund case in Sweden and how the Riksdag rules come from press coverage. But the big difference is that he represented Svensk Travsport, which is the same as Det Norske Travselskap, and not Aktiebolaget Trav och Galopp, which is largely the same as Norsk Rikstoto. He was in the organization of interest, I sit in the betting company Norsk Rikstoto, says Lauvås.

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