Page 2712 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 15 August 2017
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bizarre is the current proposal from Queanbeyan to relocate over the border. Instead of taking control of the reform process, which the club in Canberra has indicated multiple times it is willing to undertake, it is happy to watch the club relocate over the border, taking with it a number of local jobs.
I have said this before and I will say it again: if this policy was about animal welfare then the government would be taking strong steps to ensure that the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club was taking the lead in reforming the industry nationwide. It certainly goes without saying that the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club is an absolute beacon in terms of how greyhound racing should be run in this country. Unfortunately, that seems like a step too far for this government. I am heartened to see that the minister has finalised a new MOU with the racing industry—at least those that remain alive—for the next five years, and I look forward to seeing the details of it.
I would also like to take a moment to talk about our local community clubs. They are a valuable part of Canberra. Canberra’s local clubs contribute millions of dollars to the local economy, employing over 1,700 people. This is along with the vast number of local community groups that clubs support through the community contribution. In my electorate of Brindabella alone, a club like the Tuggeranong Vikings supports 51 sporting and social clubs, such as badminton, BMX, calisthenics, chess, cricket, dog training, lawn bowls, pony club, senior citizens club, squash, tenpin bowling and Toastmasters, just to name a few.
The contribution that our local clubs make cannot be understated. With these contributions in mind, the anti-club campaign by Green members of this place is a real shame. Reducing the risk of gambling harm is very important. However, branding clubs as the “gambling lobby” and profiting from gambling, I feel, is misguided. Reducing the risk of harm from gambling is important, and something that I believe all of us in this place take seriously. It is in this space that I believe we have found some common-sense middle ground. I noted the government response to the estimates committee report recommendation 26, which stated:
The Committee recommends that the ACT Government provide the Assembly with a response to the Access Canberra report on cash withdrawing facilities in gaming machine venues, including any legislative and regulatory changes, by the end of September 2017.
I am pleased to see that the government agrees to this recommendation, as well as the consequent legislation. As I mentioned earlier, I am pleased that we have come to a common-sense conclusion on this particular issue. When it comes to further gambling harm minimisation strategies, the minister would do well to break the Chief Minister’s rejection of ClubsACT. Unlike this government, ClubsACT have admitted that they are not above criticism and that there are always improvements that can be made in launching their harm minimisation policies. Last month Clubs ACT said:
We accept the community has a trust issue with clubs when it comes to the management of problem gambling.
If only we had a government that had the ability to admit that it does not always get everything right. Instead, we are stuck with a stubborn government that refuses to deal
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