Page 2713 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 15 August 2017
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with anyone who dares to disagree with it. In the meantime we have a situation where ClubsACT is trying to take harm minimisation seriously and we have a government that refuses to engage in reform because of a personal vendetta between the Chief Minister and ClubsACT.
In reference to the Gambling and Racing Commission, I want to commend the work of the commission in what has been a rather contentious time surrounding many of its functions. Since my time in this Assembly, I have participated in a number of very loud and often controversial public conversations about the regulatory framework of gaming machines, about community contributions from our clubs and of course about greyhound racing.
When the bright spotlight is shining on you, it can often make it much more difficult to go about your day-to-day business. But all of this controversy has not affected the day-to-day operations of the commission. I want to say well done to all those involved. I have had continual conversations with stakeholders in this space over many months, and the overwhelming response that I get is that the commission is doing a great job in administering the regulatory functions of gambling in the ACT.
My anecdotal feedback from some stakeholders is that there are perhaps too few foot soldiers doing much work, but that, to their credit, the work is being done to the highest standards. The commission have done and continue to do a good job in applying their strategic plan. I refer in particular to minimising the possibility of criminal or unethical activity in regard to gaming and wagering in the territory, minimising the negative impact of problem gambling, keeping informed about developments in gambling harm minimisation strategies and providing the public with factual information. The commission also holds the responsibility for ensuring that community clubs are reporting their community contributions correctly, as per the legislation. This shadow minister has nothing but praise for the Gambling and Racing Commission.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Women and Minister for Sport and Recreation) (4.38): I thought I would start by talking about sport and recreation and the commitments that have been made by the ACT government.
I want to start with the Australian Sports Commission, which earlier this year released the participation data from Ausplay, the new national survey of active participation levels and activity types. The survey indicates that the ACT has the highest participation rates across all ages and has done for the past 16 years. The ACT is the participation capital of Australia. It is something that many Canberrans choose as a pastime, and recent statistics show our rate of weekly participation at 85 per cent, which is the highest in the nation.
The ACT government invests in supporting our local sport and recreation sector to ensure that our community is afforded great places to play across a diverse range of sport and recreation facilities. A quarterly survey of visitor satisfaction indicates that
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