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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 2112 ..

That is, Mr Speaker, for every dollar a club donates to a political party, or even a Member of this Assembly in fact, it must also donate an equivalent amount towards a community purpose, and that is on top of their other statutory requirements under the Act.

Clubs are generally formed to support activities as agreed by members and in accordance with the individual club’s constitution. Some specific clubs have been formed to bring together like-minded individuals who may support for instance, a particular ethnic group, sporting code or even a political party and to advance those particular interests. There are no restrictions on like-minded people forming a club.

Mr Speaker, to single out political party donations in this manner is discriminatory and indicates political bias. That discrimination has now been addressed in the new Bill.

Mr Speaker, it is unlikely that this proposal will have any impact on the level of contributions the clubs will make to the community. It is this Government’s view that the removal of these requirements will increase the flexibility for clubs to contribute to activities that are consistent with the objectives and the interests of club members.

Harm minimisation in gambling, Mr Speaker, is a very important issue that this Government takes extremely seriously. In addition to the requirements already contained in the mandatory Code of Practice, this new Bill addresses some of these sensitive issues. For example, the hours of operation of gaming machines will be further restricted as part of a strategy aimed at restricting access to gambling. This Bill provides for the shut down of gaming machines to be extended from the current 3 hours to 5 hours in a 24-hour period.

While the empirical evidence is not conclusive on many harm minimisation strategies, this is not an area where risks can be taken. The Government believes that a number of measures are worthy of consideration while further research is undertaken.

One such strategy is to restrict the denomination of notes that can be placed in note-acceptors attached to gaming machines.

Another harm minimisation strategy proposed in the new Bill is the formalisation of the maximum number of gaming machines permitted in the Territory to the current level of 5200. In addition, any changes to the level of this cap may only be made following an investigation by the Gambling and Racing Commission and subsequent recommendations to the relevant Minister. This investigation must consider a number of predetermined criteria including the demand for gambling in the community, the incidence of problem gambling and the availability of support services for problem gamblers. The amendment of the cap is by a disallowable instrument to ensure that the Assembly has an opportunity to scrutinise the decision.

In conclusion, Mr Speaker, this revised Gaming Machine Act brings the operational and regulatory requirements up-to-date and provides for a transparent, fairer and more responsible way of controlling gaming machines in our community. This Bill reflects on the very good work undertaken by the Gambling and Racing Commission in conducting their comprehensive review of the Act where the community and industry were extensively consulted.

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