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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 06 Hansard (Thursday, 24 June 2004) . . Page.. 2664 ..

developing healthy attitudes in our young. Sport provides not only good, healthy, physical activity but also healthy mental attitudes, assisting them to become good citizens. I see huge community benefit in sport and, given that a lot of the clubs were specifically set up for sporting reasons and have sport in their articles of association as their purpose, it is right and proper that they give the bulk of their community contribution to sport.

I was a director for Royals for a number of years in the 1980s. When we were able to, we gave money not only to the various sporting groups but also to various charities that needed money in our area. Unfortunately, in the last couple of years I spent as a director we were constantly trying to save money. There is a sorry saga with that particular club, in that it has now been taken over by another club. That indicates some of the pitfalls that affect the industry.

I am pleased to see the Labor Club suddenly take a great interest in the arts. That should not surprise me; Gough Whitlam seemed to have a great interest in the arts. A lot of very good cultural events have been sponsored by the Labor Club, and I wonder if that has something to do with the fact that they are probably the main club group making political donations, it being in their charter as much as anything to help their comrades in the parliamentary party.

An amendment put some years ago to the last consolidation ensured that, apart from the seven per cent community contribution, there was an additional proviso whereby for every dollar clubs donate to political parties, individuals, candidates or MLAs they would contribute a dollar to the community as well. As a result of the money the Labor Club pays out to its own political party, I hope to see a corresponding amount of money go to the community organisations. In this instance, that might go to some of the great cultural events I have seen the Labor Club sponsoring recently. Those are examples of good use of the taxes and imposts that have been put on clubs—good use for the benefit of our community.

I am pleased to see—and I accept what the officials tell me—some of the provisions that were put in the February or March amendments, which Mr Quinlan and I respectively made to this act in relation to social impact assessments. The taverns are now completing theirs, and I am pleased to hear from the officials that it is not going to be too onerous and that they feel it is better for the organisation to do it rather than for the officials to do it for the organisation and then maybe reject an application. I can see the logic in that, although I would hope they would not be too bureaucratic. Nevertheless, social impact statements for any new poker machines, or any changes, are an essential tool for looking at the issues of problem gambling and overproliferation and have checks and balances to make sure that there is justification for change, especially any increases in areas for poker machines.

I am delighted that after 18 years the imbroglio and the unreasonable impasse that saw taverns and hotels have access to only two non-existing class A machines have finally been amicably resolved with taverns and hotels being allowed to have two class B machines—class B machines being the draw poker machines. Apart from six draw poker machines in clubs that have them, all the rest will be in the taverns and hotels. Of course, the seven pubs that have accommodation have 10 class Bs each and have been able to for some time. That compromise has solved to most people’s satisfaction the

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