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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 8 Hansard (24 August) . . Page.. 2266 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

For the vast majority of Australians, the pervasive influence of gambling, and particularly gaming machines, that the commission revealed came as a rude shock. For many people, the fact that Australia has 21 per cent of the world's poker machines and that problem gambling is a significantly grave problem in Australia compared to other countries was a matter of grave concern. State and Territory governments' increasing dependence on taxes from gambling revenues came as another rude shock.

In 1997-98 more than 15 per cent of Victoria's state revenues came from taxes on gambling, with gaming taxes constituting 13.8 per cent of South Australia's state revenues, 12.5 per cent of Queensland's state revenues, 10.4 per cent of New South Wales' state revenues and 8.3 per cent of the ACT's territory revenues. The commission found that 75 per cent of Australians believe that gambling does more harm than good and 92 per cent do not want an increase in gambling machines.

Of most concern was the commission's key findings on the impact of problem gambling on gamblers, on their families and on the broader community. The commission found that around 330,000 Australians, or 2.3 per cent of the adult population, had significant gambling problems and that 140,000 were experiencing severe gambling problems. It found that at least five people were affected by the activities of every problem gambler; that one in four problem gamblers reported divorce or separation as a result of gambling; that one in 10 had contemplated suicide due to gambling; and that nearly half of those problem gamblers in counselling reported losing time from work or study due to gambling in the last year.

The commission found that problem gamblers account for over $3 billion in losses annually, one-third of the total expenditure on gambling, and that each problem gambler loses on average nearly $12,000 a year, compared to the $625 that other gamblers lose a year. Perhaps another way of looking at these particular statistics is that problem gamblers directly fund more than one-third of the taxes earned from gambling and more than one-third of the gaming revenues that go to building club facilities and subsiding meals and alcohol in clubs. These tax revenues and club services come at a very great cost to the lives and wellbeing of individuals in our community.

Before I speak more specifically on regulation of gambling, I would like to lay to rest one of the chief arguments of the gambling industry and the supporters of gambling. Their argument is that, if we touch the sacred cow of gambling by regulating it in a way that balances harm minimisation with protecting the legitimate pleasure that many Australians find in moderate and controlled gambling, the economy will suffer, jobs will be lost and businesses will go broke.

On the issue of the economic contribution of gambling to the Australian economy, the Productivity Commission challenges the arguments of the gambling industry. The gambling industry argues that it contributes jobs, it expends money which flows on to other businesses and it contributes to the economy. The Productivity Commission convincingly argues that "these 'production side' benefits, in contrast to those from consumption, are largely illusory". The commission argues:

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