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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 02 Hansard (Tuesday, 2 March 2004) . . Page.. 593 ..

I am writing with regard to the proposed Private Members Bill allowing hotels and pubs to install up to 10 poker machines. I urge you, on behalf of Lifeline Canberra and many clients that we see, not to support such a bill.

Lifeline Canberra runs Gambling Care, the only specialized counselling service for people experiencing difficulties with gambling. As you may be aware most people experiencing problems with gambling in the ACT have problems with electronic gaming machines (EGMs). In any year more than 80% of our clients will be EGM players. Our counsellors works with clients to overcome their problems with gambling. In doing so they hear first hand of the incredible hardship and distress which problem gamblers and their families face. Many of our clients tell us that they have contemplated suicide as a way out of their gambling problems.

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A significant factor in development of problem gambling can be attributed to an increase in accessibility of gaming machines. Introduction of poker machines to hotels and pubs or to the casino would increase accessibility and would also increase the number of people who develop problems with gambling. Lifeline Canberra opposes the introduction of poker machines outside Clubs.

If we had had a little longer before this debate came on, I might have had a chance to harness more debate and opposition to this bill and perhaps encourage support from the Labor Party rank and file who supported a resolution at their 2002 conference opposing any further expansion of poker machines outside of licensed clubs, which I would argue that this bill does. It seems, however, that the Labor government has chosen to push this bill through quickly.

MR QUINLAN (Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism and Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming) (12.28 am), in reply: First of all, I think it needs to be stated that taverns are permitted poker machines at present. It is simply the case that the ones that they are permitted are not available, through technological change, and it makes sense to make the minimal adjustment to allow taverns to resume their original position.

In response to some of the comments that were made about numbers of poker machines, I recommend to members a reading of the Productivity Commission report, which says that prohibition, unless it is absolute prohibition, is not the answer; reducing the number of machines is not the answer. What is the answer is the education and the code of practice. The code of practice that exists in the ACT has been recognised as being the strongest code of practice in Australia, if not the Western world. So I think that is the way we must go, and I do hope the Democrats will have the courage to face the facts in relation to how we must address problem gambling.

As members have mentioned, the bill also maintains the cap, and I think that is reasonable, although I think the arbitrariness of the cap will be a problem one day. Unless things change, the town will grow and, unless we have wiped out poker machines, areas such as North Gungahlin will not be able to establish a club because the cap will be reached and no more machines will be allowed. So we will have a sort of arbitrary go/no go area. The cap is intuitively acceptable but, like a number of things that come before this place, it is just a little naive and a little simplistic as an approach.

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