Page 4118 - Week 12 - Thursday, 1 December 2022
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As we are all aware, the bushfire smoke of 2019-20 was both severe and long lasting. For many people it was impossible to keep smoke out of their homes. The University of Canberra living well survey found that 67 per cent of survey respondents had a lot of smoke in their homes and 36 per cent also experienced a lot of smoke in the workplace. The Gaming Machine (Club Refuge) Amendment Bill recognises the impact that emergencies and other hazards have on our community by providing the legislative framework to support clubs to become refuges during such events.
The bill inserts a new section into the Gaming Machine Act 2004 to provide that clubs can be activated by ministerial declaration to facilitate their use as a refuge during an emergency or other hazard. In declaring certain clubs to be refuges under the act, I must consider any advice of the Emergency Services Commissioner in making the declaration.
The requirement to consider the advice of the commissioner is an important safeguard in the legislation. It ensures that any action taken is consistent with the ACT Emergencies (Emergency Plan) 2014 (No 1). It also ensures that the lead response agency for the hazard has the opportunity to provide advice to me, through the commissioner, before I decide whether to make a club refuge declaration in response to the hazard.
I consider ACT clubs to be well placed for use, as many club venues provide our community with access to heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems that people do not ordinarily have in their homes. In recognition of this, the bill amends the sign-in and temporary membership requirements under the act to allow local guests to enter the club without obtaining membership while a club refuge declaration is in force. This supports the accessibility of club venues by the wider Canberra community during an extreme weather event.
Clubs will be assessed by a panel of relevant ACT government areas to determine whether a venue is appropriate to operate as a refuge. This will include ensuring that the club has a designated area away from electronic gaming machines and alcohol services where people can congregate. The assessment is an important policy safeguard which will inform my decision to declare certain clubs to be refuges.
To recognise clubs for their contribution to the community during an emergency or other hazard, the bill amends the act to allow clubs to claim the expenses associated with lost membership fees and the provision of free non-alcoholic drinks to people seeking refuge as part of their mandatory community contributions under the act. As clubs are not being paid or reimbursed for providing their venues for use as a refuge during an emergency or other hazard, I consider this to be a small but important gesture to recognise the important role that these venues will play once the ministerial declaration is in force.
As I mentioned, this bill has been drafted in accordance with the ACT government’s existing emergency response strategies. For example, the ACT Extreme Heat Plan is
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