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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 2 Hansard (20 May) . . Page.. 428 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

consider also the issue of the cap. Mr Kaine said in his speech - Trevor, please correct me if I got it wrong - that the cap will allow only new clubs to receive machines, and it is not for existing clubs to extend their current number of poker machines. My understanding is that a lot of the applications for additional machines in the pipeline are from existing clubs. Indeed, four of those are run by the Labor Party, and there are others such as the Hellenic Club. I hope that that is the committee's understanding, and I hope that that is Kerrie's understanding - that, if the cap is put in place and any extra machine licences are granted, they go only to new clubs if they come on line.

The problem here is that in Belconnen, as I am aware, the soccer club there, the Labor Club, the Ginninderra Labor Club and the Bocce Club are after machines. If we look at North Canberra, it is the Racing Club. Rugby League Park, I would assume, would want some machines for their club. There is the Workers Club, the redevelopment of the Ainslie Rex for one of the soccer clubs, and the casino club. If we go out to Gungahlin, I know that at least the golf club and the Raiders Club would be interested in new machines. In Tuggeranong there is talk of a major development that has been discussed quite widely in the Community Council for the local soccer club that has no facilities at all. I do not believe that they have put in any application for machines yet because it is still on the drawing board. The Buffalos Club, I know, is interested in moving to Lanyon and they would, I assume, seek machines. Then, in the south of Canberra you have things like the Woden Valley Club, the Tradesmen's Club and another Hellenic Club. Indeed, the Brumbies announced yesterday that they have secured space at Griffith Oval and I am sure that they would build a facility to back that up.

I hope the proposed committee will confirm, before we vote on this, that any new poker machine licences that go out go only to new clubs, not to existing clubs who want to expand their gaming rooms. I think Mr Moore is right; that we will end up with a rush of applications for extra machines. Who will then determine who gets the machines? Is it a first come, first served basis? Is it the biggest? Is it the best? Is it the newest? Is it the oldest? I am not sure how one would divvy up those extra 600-odd machines.

I think we could reasonably ask for just a little bit more time. The Allen Consulting Group, as has been pointed out already, is looking at the social and economic impact of gambling in the ACT community. When we look at the motion to set up the select committee, the very first point says:

a Select Committee on Gambling be appointed to inquire into and report ... on the social and economic impacts of gambling in the ACT ...

This is a very difficult issue that this Assembly has debated time and time again, but with just two weeks' patience we may well be able to set up a far better select committee on gambling that may well be in a far better position to do a far better job. I think, in terms of two weeks' patience, that it would not be unreasonable that we now adjourn this debate and that we just wait and see what the Allen Consulting Group brings forth, given that the key point - the social and economic impact of gambling in the ACT - is the key point at which the Allen Consulting Group is looking.

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