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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (9 April) . . Page.. 832 ..

MR WHITECROSS (continuing):

It would be very easy in these current economic times to go down the path of a State such as Victoria. Gambling taxes provide the Victorian State Government budget with $1 billion annually, compared to $500m only four years ago. The ACT economy is in recession, the Government is facing largely self-inflicted budgetary problems of its own, Commonwealth funding has also declined, and the ACT has limited revenue-raising capacity. It will be all too easy for government in the ACT to become the next big gambling junkie in Australia. This is why we need to ensure that we have all the facts before beginning to feed something that could become an addiction. Other governments have become so dependent on gambling that in some States it is now their third or fourth biggest source of revenue. I believe that before any decisions can be made about the other Bills before the house - Mr Moore's Bill in particular - we must know the likely impact of passing that Bill. I will be very open to the results of the study and will assess all the factors before making a decision.

I call on the Government to commission this study expeditiously. There is pressure for change. There are Bills before the Assembly in relation to gambling, and we need information to make an informed decision. This is an important issue. It is an important issue to people in my electorate, it is an important issue to people who vote Labor, and we believe that it should be taken seriously. We need to raise the level of the debate, and a social and economic impact study into gaming in the ACT will help to do that.

Motion (by Mrs Carnell) put:

That the debate be adjourned.

The Assembly voted -

	AYES, 10	 NOES, 7

	Mrs Carnell	Mr Berry
	Mr Cornwell	Mr Corbell
	Mr Hird		Ms McRae
	Ms Horodny	Mr Osborne
	Mr Humphries	Ms Reilly
	Mr Kaine	Mr Whitecross
	Mrs Littlewood	Mr Wood
	Mr Moore
	Mr Stefaniak
	Ms Tucker

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