Page 926 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 26 July 1989
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What was more difficult to assess was how this problem should be weighed against the advantages and opportunities which a casino would bring. On the down side, the most authoritative evidence before the committee - the view of the Caldwell study - had it that an estimated 11.4 per cent increase could be expected in the number of excessive gamblers over present levels. This translates, in 1988 terms, to about 86 additional excessive gamblers in the ACT community. That is the Caldwell committee's conclusion.
It was for this reason that the committee accepted strongly the view that certain, as yet unimplemented, recommendations of the Caldwell inquiry be addressed as a matter of urgency by the ACT Government; specifically, that the counselling, referral and educational services recommended by Caldwell be established as a matter of priority. This decision does not depend on whether a casino is ultimately approved and goes ahead. The committee also recommends that a proportion of total government gambling revenue be dedicated to the funding of such services.
On the other side of this difficult equation I have spoken of, the committee was mindful of the jobs to be created during both the construction phase and the operational phase of a casino. The evidence put before us was that about 3,000 jobs would be created during the construction phase and a further 1,000 to 1,400 jobs would flow directly from the operation of a casino in Canberra. At its very simplest - or simplistic, perhaps - the equation boiled down to about 100 problem gamblers against several thousand additional jobs. The committee's unenviable position was eventually resolved by a majority vote in favour of the view that the demonstrated benefits outweighed the adverse social impact. Gambling is a serious social problem, but so is unemployment.
Another issue of significance, Mr Speaker, was the question of crime, in particular organised crime. In this respect, the committee received starkly different evidence from a range of sources. The insistence of authorities in Tasmania and South Australia that there was no nexus between organised crime and the casinos there was challenged directly by other evidence which insisted that organised crime could and would be a feature of any casino in the ACT.
On balance, the committee leaned towards the views of those with direct experience of casinos as against the views of those whose advice tended to be more second-hand or hearsay. The Australian Federal Police, for example, warned that a casino had the potential - and I stress "potential" - to attract organised crime and that strict precautions will be necessary to exclude or minimise this possibility.
The committee was anxious to interview Mr Bob Bottom, who had appeared before a previous Legislative Assembly inquiry
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