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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 9 Hansard (22 August) . . Page.. 3206 ..

MR RUGENDYKE (continuing):

That is exactly the proposal I have here on the table today. This report said it was logical to apply to the consumption of gambling products a rationale similar to that applied in imposing a break on the consumption of alcohol.

Lifeline will tell you that the way to help problem gamblers is the same way you help problem drinkers, and that is to provide a break. Lifeline will also tell you that they know of people who gamble at poker machines for 24 or 30 hours at a time. This proposal of mine, as a start point, is a very sensible one from that point of view. It may well be that the seven or 16 people, however many it was, identified in the figures presented by Mr Humphries as a result of the information gathered by the gambling commission are the problem gamblers.

Mr Kaine: That is a presumption if ever I have heard one.

MR RUGENDYKE: It is a good one, though. It is commonsense and absolutely necessary in light of the information that is now before the Assembly.

The latest research confirms that poker machines are at the core of problem gambling in our community. This report confirms that they prey on the most vulnerable people in our society, and it is time to say that enough is enough.

It is frightening that 1.9 per cent of the adult population accounts for more than 37 per cent of gambling expenditure. That equates to approximately 5,300 people spending a total of $77 million, or $14,500 each, every year. Research also shows that the bulk of this spending is on poker machines and that the average income of the people most likely to use them is $35,000 a year. So people are throwing away about half of their earnings on gambling addictions. Professor McMillen stressed that these were conservative figures. It is very clear that there is a real problem in the ACT.

A pertinent fact is that people, in particular males, in the under 25 age group have the highest prevalence of problem gambling, at 36 per cent. Individuals in this age bracket are extremely likely to continue at all hours of the morning in front of a pokie that is feeding off their addiction. The figures also tell us that half of problem gamblers have dependent kids. That is of more concern to me than the money the government or the clubs will lose by shutting the machines off for a few hours.

I flagged my intention to draft legislation of this kind with ClubsACT some 12 months ago. ClubsACT sat on their hands and failed to meet a commitment to me to make an input into the proposal. ClubsACT sat on their hands for four months before I eventually tabled the bill. It was not until six months after I had raised the issue with ClubsACT that I received some feedback. Surprise, surprise, the industry simply protested against the move and did not signal anything favourable about the proposal. They did not even acknowledge that a break for gamblers was sensible, as we heard from ClubsNSW.

ClubsACT has had 12 months to consult on this, but their only contribution has been no. Now ClubsACT want this bill delayed. It is certainly pertinent to highlight the credibility gap in this organisation's stand. ClubsACT stated in a letter to me in February this year that "the information that is currently available from clubs including anecdotal evidence from staff employed on the early morning shifts suggests the people who are in the clubs

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