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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (9 April) . . Page.. 827 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

impacts of the industry, is going to look at all the issues Mr Whitecross has put forward in his motion. How could an industry plan be developed without looking at the current state of the gambling industry, the social and economic profile of gamblers, the incidence of people with addictive or excessive gambling problems, the impact of gambling on other social and economic activities, and so on?

If Mr Whitecross had bothered to listen to my speech in the Assembly last December, he would have heard me talk about the growing human fallout from gambling, the jobs in the industry, the revenue and so on. He would have heard me say that in 1994-95 the ACT had the highest per capita gambling expenditure - about $800 per person. He would have heard me say that the current level of support for services available for problem gamblers is inadequate. So our inquiry has more power than the impact assessment Mr Whitecross is proposing, and it is absolutely necessary that it has. We want the inquiry not only to look at the here and now of the gambling industry but also to advise us on the complex political and economic questions surrounding the future expansion of the industry and the future regulation of the industry. We want the issue of the regulatory framework, possibly through the creation of an authority, examined as part of this inquiry. Mr Whitecross has even put in his motion that the impact study should examine the economic and social costs and benefits of an extension of gaming machines. Labor is apparently not even worried about that part of our inquiry.

Last year gaming taxes from poker machines alone provided 51/2 per cent of total tax revenue for the ACT. Taxes on all forms of gambling provided about 11 per cent. Canberra's 68 licensed clubs provide about 2,000 jobs, $1.1m in liquor licence fees, $27m in rates and salaries, and about $2.5 to $3m to charities. Problem gambling accounts for more than 26 per cent of turnover and has impacted on 14.5 per cent of families. That is in a New South Wales study. All of the help-providing agencies in Canberra are reporting large increases in the numbers of people seeking help with gambling-related problems. Lifeline told us that over 80 per cent of the clients of its gambling counselling service were having problems related to poker machines in particular and that the larger proportion were low-income earners. The Salvation Army reported a big increase in the need for emergency assistance related to problem gambling. The impression from case histories was that many more single mums under financial stress were experiencing problems related to gambling.

In conclusion, the continued unplanned expansion of gambling without adequate safeguards and support services is such an important issue that it must be comprehensively addressed. We cannot afford to continue the current ad hoc approach. This is an opportunity for all members of this place to show their commitment to responsible and far-sighted management of the Territory. As I said, Mrs Carnell and the Liberal Party are interested in having further discussions on this, which is extremely encouraging; but I would still say to Labor that, if they insist on putting up their motion and their impact assessment, they have lost credibility in a major way in the eyes of this community, and it will be on their heads.

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