Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 8 Hansard (26 August) . . Page.. 2550 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

gambling. Mr Humphries has hit on the topic of the moment - Internet gambling - and the impacts of it. I agree to some extent with Mr Humphries' comments in relation to the performance of functions amendments that were adopted in the last 5 or 10 minutes. There is a danger that we will make this commission far too negative and far too much of a monitoring - - -

Ms Tucker: Negative! Consumer protection is negative! Great, I will remember that one. That is really good. And best public interest is negative! Okay.

Mr Humphries: You have soiled your nest now, Mr Quinlan.

MR QUINLAN: I have been in trouble all week, Mr Humphries.

Mr Humphries: Hell hath no fury like a Green scorned.

MR QUINLAN: Yes, I understand. We are prepared to accept that one of the members of the commission would have experience and qualifications relating to counselling services for problem gambling because we do believe that we have quite a clear responsibility there. At the same time, as I said earlier, this commission will have to address some very complex issues. It will require predominance to a hard-headed approach to gambling and to probity and it will also require on that board a fairly clear understanding of gambling.

I am not much of a gambler, but I have tried to wrestle with the processes of gambling, the processes of sports betting and the processes that look like emerging in relation to Internet gambling and I do believe that for this commission to do its job properly it will require a complement of people who have an understanding of gambling. The reason we have expanded the board to five in this amendment is to ensure that not everybody has an association with gambling, that the hard-headed consciousness of probity issues might rest also with the board but be detached from the gambling industry. We hope to provide for all things, a commission for all seasons, one which includes the capacity to address problem gambling, an understanding of the gambling industry and a hard-headed and practical approach to issues so that they can be evaluated strictly on their merits. I commend the amendment to the Assembly.

MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (5.22): The Government is not comfortable with the notion of increasing the commission's size from, effectively, three to five. I am not sure that we need a commission as large as that to perform functions in this area. I note the comments Mr Quinlan makes about needing to get a range of interests onto the commission, but I am not sure that it should be so large as to provide for people to have seats at the table as if they are stakeholders. My view is very firm about this, Mr Speaker. The people who come to the commission must be people with perhaps a background in these things, perhaps with experience in some aspect of the industry or in providing counselling or support to problem gamblers, whatever it might be, but they should come with their experience, with their knowledge and with their sense of judgment and so on to perform their roles and the additional value of having five people over three is a bit hard to see.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .