Page135 - Week 01 - Thursday, 3 December 2020
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Club workers are such a critical part of what makes our clubs a great place to visit. We want to ensure that clubs look after these workers as the industry transitions away from gaming machine revenue. In the climate policy agreement we talk about the necessity for a just transition, and that is equally important here. As the necessary shift occurs in this sector, we want to ensure that workers are part of that journey and that retraining and new opportunities are provided where necessary.
Some clubs have raised the cost of water as an issue affecting their sustainability. In 2021 we will conduct a review into the water costs for high-intensity users of non-potable water. Clubs will also have access to a $5 million building and energy efficiency upgrade fund to support them in making investments in their buildings that will have ongoing benefits through water and energy efficiency, reducing their fixed running costs. One of the key challenges for clubs during COVID was that patrons could not come because of the public health emergency but the bills kept coming in. If we can reduce those bills, that is one extra way to help the clubs.
Last summer showed us just how brutal and extreme the weather can be as the community endured heat, smoke and hail. Because of climate change, summers like the last are likely to become more common. We have committed to supporting clubs to become refuges for the community in such times of need. This could involve consideration of air filtration systems, as well as financial payments to venues that are designated official, extreme weather refuge sites.
We need places in Canberra where people can go when those sorts of circumstances arise, and looking to our clubs to be those places potentially provides them with a new source of revenue as government potentially pays for that service and keeps them relevant in our community, as well as being a place that people feel comfortable in.
These are the sorts of things that we can be innovative about in working with our clubs to think about. Not everyone is going to be able to go to the mall. Not everyone can fit in the libraries. We need more places where people can go under these extreme conditions and our clubs, we think, can be part of that solution. They have terrific facilities right across the community. They have lots of space. They are ideal for the sorts of needs our community will have in the future.
That is just one example of the sort of thing that I look forward to working on with the club industry and with other key stakeholders as we seek to implement this government’s commitments as set out in the parliamentary and governing agreement. This important work over the coming months and years will help shape the future of the industry and enable clubs to continue their role as a key part of so many of Canberra’s social occasions and events.
I have circulated an amendment—Mr Parton noted its length—but I felt it was important to include a range of things that Mr Parton left out of his motion. Mr Parton’s motion essentially ignores the fact that the parliamentary and governing agreement exists. He calls for a range of policy measures which are not the policy measures that Labor and the Greens have agreed to. Just to make sure that it is clear, I have included in my amendment the terms of the parliamentary agreement because
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