Page 6171 - Week 19 - Tuesday, 17 December 1991
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effective result is that the bigger clubs, with their rebates, are going to be below us. I am waiting to see what the Chief Minister says about relativity now with the Queanbeyan Leagues Club, which would be interesting, and how and why we are going out of kilter with New South Wales when I thought that one of the ideas was to bring us into kilter.
To speak positively now of the Government's Bill, if my advice is correct and clubs like the Canberra South Bowling Club can go down from $7,814 to $856, the effect will be that they can spend more money on capital acquisition and improvements in their club earning capacity. That may sustain them - I will concede that if these figures are correct - in the short run. But I believe that we should have, at an early date, a proper inquiry, assisted by competent bodies like the Licensed Clubs Association of the ACT and others, into the number of clubs we have, where they are going, and what the Government can do to support the transition that many clubs will need to go through after the casino, if it is established. I believe that there will be great stresses on the club circuit as a result of the casino and these smaller clubs will still not be bailed out by this diminution in the gaming machine collections.
I applaud the Government for moving on those pseudo clubs owned by private interests which have sprung up in town. I do not believe that those pseudo clubs present anything back to the community in terms of community services. I believe that it is appropriate that clubs be clubs - that is clubs for the objectives and purposes for which they are founded. I foreshadow the need for some of those clubs, if they are going to have to extend their membership - particularly the yacht club, for instance, where, as I know, membership is about $160 a year - to alter their objectives and purposes so that they can, within the terms of their constitutions, expand their membership, which otherwise may be difficult, given the cost of membership.
Likewise, the Canberra Workers Club, which has a somewhat unusual structure, with just a few real sort of managing members and all the BWIU constitutionally entitled to be members. The effective management of that club, in a cooperative sense, has interested me for many years. I do not really need to go on about that.
The outcome of this Bill is uncertain in some respects. We are going to keep it under review. I endorse the comments made earlier about the need to examine the impact of this in six months' time. I particularly commend to the commissioner, to whom discretion has been given by this Bill, that discretion be exercised compassionately in the interests of the smaller clubs.
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