Page 2622 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 28 June 2011
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best interests, the Gaming Machine Act would provide the Gambling and Racing Commission with the power to seek to have the matter addressed with the licensee. This could include disciplinary action against the licensee. This mechanism ensures that the licensee addresses the issues and takes responsibility to ensure that their directors are compliant with their legal obligations. As with all disciplinary matters, the commission would consider the circumstances of any breach, including providing the licensee with an opportunity to comment and rectify before taking action. If action is taken by the commission, the licensee has the opportunity to seek a review of the decision with the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
In relation to the potential for two regulators pursuing a licensee for the same issue, ASIC’s focus is on the individual director while this bill encourages a licensee to resolve the matter at board level. In any case, I have no doubt that the two regulators would communicate with each other in such circumstances to ensure that any action taken was coordinated.
An important point of the governance arrangements of many clubs is the use of an associated organisation to maintain consistent objects and, therefore, stability in its goals. This bill recognises this fact but proposes some important requirements on the operation of associated organisations. While associated organisations will retain the ability to appoint directors, under this bill they will no longer be able to remove directors from club boards. This is to ensure a director appointed by an associated organisation does not experience pressure—real or perceived—to act in the interests of the associated organisation rather than the interests of the club. As I have emphasised, a director’s first responsibility must be to the members and the club. This bill helps to ensure the interests of the members and the club remain foremost in the minds of directors.
The bill recognises that organisations can change over time. This bill requires that associated organisations continually meet the requirements of their initial declaration and, therefore, continue to be a benefit to the club. The bill also requires an associated organisation not to do anything that would, if the commission were considering whether to declare an entity as an associated organisation for a club, cause the commission to refuse to make the declaration. For example, if the entity had a history of regulatory noncompliance, then not only would this be an issue on application, it would also be relevant if it occurred after an initial approval was granted.
The bill provides the commission with the power to suspend or repeal a declaration of an associated organisation. This will protect clubs and their assets from associated organisations having a significant influence when they are no longer a benefit to the club.
This bill has been carefully developed following a comprehensive review and an extensive consultation process with the ACT clubs industry. The implementation of this bill will set the club industry on a better course of governance. It will ensure better outcomes for members and the community. To build on this approach to governance, I will soon request ClubsACT to review their existing voluntary code of governance. This is to ensure that it includes best practice guidelines along with a system to monitor licensee performance in achieving those outcomes. We will
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