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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 11 Hansard (22 October) . . Page.. 3954 ..

MS DUNDAS (continuing):

Full reduction will probably take years to achieve, but it is essential that the power to do so be transferred as soon as possible. This motion calls for it to be completed by the end of this financial year. Much as I would like to complete the reduction of poker machines in the same timeframe, I understand this will not be possible, given the administrative changes that need to occur first. I want to make this point strongly: I am not asking for the number of machines to magically drop over the next few months; I am asking for the process to begin.

My motion before the Assembly today goes to the central issue of poker machines in the ACT. Why do we have so many? I have asked this question before and have never got a satisfactory answer from anyone. Why does the ACT have the highest number of poker machines per head of all the jurisdictions in Australia? Why do Canberrans spend three times as much on poker machines than on all other forms of gambling put together? Do we believe that Canberrans enjoy gambling more than any other Australians? Do we believe that Canberrans have a greater demand for gambling services than other Australians? I do not think so.

I believe that the extraordinary number of poker machines in the ACT is due to the lax control of poker machine proliferation in the territory, beginning with the previous government and continuing in the current one. Despite the introduction of the Gambling and Racing Commission and the introduction of a cap on the number of machines, we are still granting new licences and we are still allowing more and more poker machines to get into the community, even though we know they have great potential to create harm and suffering.

The ACT government needs to confront this problem head on and work to reverse the number of poker machines in Canberra. So far, we have commissioned report after report and review after review but have failed to take any decisive action against this growing social problem. We need to act now to reduce the impacts of problem gambling and to make it clear to the ACT community that we do not want to be the poker machine capital of Australia.

I have mentioned on numerous occasions the social damage that is caused by the high incidence of problem gambling. The ACT government has commissioned two studies on the problem, which have been conducted by the Australian Institute of Gambling Research: Survey of the nature and extent of problem gambling in the ACT and ACT needs analysis: gambling support services. Neither of these studies has ever been given a formal response by either the former or the present government. The reports present a stark picture of the significant problems faced by problem gamblers in the ACT and demonstrate that there are over 5,000 problem gamblers in Canberra.

Reducing the number of poker machines is the quickest and simplest way to reduce the incidence of problem gambling. It will also put an end to the proliferation of poker machines and send a clear message to the industry that poker machines should no longer be considered a cash cow to be milked for all it is worth. There is no good reason why the number of poker machines we have for our population should remain at 80 per cent ?? above the national average. Even then, it is useful to remember that Australia has the highest number of poker machines per capita in the world, so the Australian average is not a particularly low benchmark.

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