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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 11 Hansard (20 October) . . Page.. 3379 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

in structure to last year's report and includes data on both club and hotel contributions. It is largely a statistical report and therefore can be used to make, for the first time, year-to-year comparisons of what is going on in that sector.

Some of the figures on the industry are worth bringing to the attention of members. In the reporting period the club industry had gross gaming machine revenue of $147m, an increase of nearly $21m on the previous financial year, 1997-98. After tax and an allowance of 15 per cent of gross gaming machine revenue for operating costs, the net gaming machine revenue is estimated at $92.6m - that is, $92.6m net profit available to the clubs to provide services to members and to the community. The majority of it, $80.3m out of $92.6m, remained in club operations, while $12.3m was reported to the Commissioner for ACT Revenue as community contributions.

Breaking that figure down further, of the reported $12.3m, contributions that were directed to associated organisations, infrastructure assets and political and union organisations totalled $7.7m. These contributions are not donations to the wider community. They are contributions to matters or organisations closely associated with individual clubs and their membership. That leaves $4.6m in cash or in kind that was donated for the benefit of the wider ACT community - that is, outside the club membership base. That $4.6m comprised donations to sport, $2m; donations to charity, $1.34m; in-kind donations, $581,000; donations to non-profit organisations, $575,000; and the use of club premises by the public at no charge, $112,000.

From a net profit of $92.6m, after tax and after reasonable overheads, the club industry gave only $1.34m to charitable organisations and activities. This equates to 1.45 per cent of net gaming machine revenue. While this reflects a marked improvement on the 1997-98 contributions, the fact is that this still falls short of what this Government believes a reasonable level of contributions to the needy and disadvantaged groups in our community should be. Mr Speaker, in making these comments, I do not in any way denigrate the fine work done by many clubs in this community to help many community organisations. There are outstanding contributions made by the club industry in this city.

However, even if you include donations to sport, in-kind donations and use of club premises - if you put all those things into the one basket - just $4.6m for charitable organisations and activities out of $92.6m is, at its most charitable, a very low figure. I strongly believe that many clubs still have the capacity to contribute more to charity and, given their level of profits, this certainly can be achieved without any need for reductions on the current level of contributions to sport and other non-profit activities.

The Government tabled in the Assembly in May this year a further amendment to the Gaming Machine Act. The amendment would require a mandatory minimum level of contributions to be made to the wider community - 3 per cent of gaming machine revenue to go to charity or charitable purposes and 2 per cent of net gaming machine revenue to go to other activities or organisations, such as sport and the arts, to enhance the social fabric of our community.

The Government has to defer debate on the amendment Bill, Mr Speaker, because it cannot get sufficient support in this Assembly to have the Bill passed. I am astonished that the stumbling block is the 3 per cent of net gaming machine revenue to go to charity

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