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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 06 Hansard (Thursday, 24 June 2004) . . Page.. 2669 ..

The survey also showed the number of social problems that are associated with problem gambling. About 50 per cent of surveyed problem gamblers reported that they suffered from depression due to gambling, about 14 per cent of ACT residents with gambling problems seriously considered suicide because of gambling and about 25 per cent of ACT problem gamblers had their jobs adversely affected by gambling or felt that they had less time to spend with their families. The survey also noted that a higher proportion of ACT problem gamblers said they had lost their job due to gambling than did those surveyed in a national survey considered by the Productivity Commission.

We should note that gambling is not equally distributed among people in the community. Younger ACT males from English-speaking backgrounds with lower levels of education and income are disproportionately represented amongst problem gamblers in the territory. Younger Australian-born men in lower income levels with no post-secondary education experience the most difficulties with gaming machines.

In regard to the debate about the wellbeing of boys and young men in Australia that is dominating some political discourse at the moment, it is clear from this evidence that problem gambling is a significant cause of harm among this particular group. Given that problem gamblers are at greater risk of suicide, there are implications for the high rate of youth suicide among men.

Perhaps the most revealing facts uncovered by the survey are the public attitudes to gambling in the territory. The survey showed that 78 per cent of Canberrans thought gambling did more harm than good to the community, and more than half disagreed with increasing the number of poker machines. We see that other governments are taking action on this issue. Despite the fact that they have fewer poker machines per capita than the national average, the South Australian government has announced that it will be taking 3,000 poker machines out of circulation. It is unfortunate that the ACT, with the highest number of poker machines per capita than any other jurisdiction in Australia, is not prepared to take this step.

Despite the bill providing a better framework for the regulation of poker machines in the territory than the previous act, I continue to have a number of concerns in relation to the bill. I will go into greater detail on some of those concerns when we get to the detail stage, and I have moved, or will be moving, a number of amendments to deal with them.

I am particularly concerned that there has been no move to place a time limit on the length of licences for poker machines in the ACT. It is ironic that, despite our time-limiting the right to occupy land in the ACT by issuing a 99-year lease, we allow people the right to have a poker machine indefinitely. You can have a poker machine in the ACT for longer than you can have access to a block of land. The commission specifically recommended that this anomaly be removed, but the government has decided to continue with the practices that are already in place.

I also have concerns about the new provisions to increase the level of the gaming machine cap. While other jurisdictions are actively reducing their poker machine numbers, the ACT is implementing a system that will allow us to increase them. This is clearly not in line with the precautionary principle and, despite the additional steps that

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