Page 4831 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 1 November 2017
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What we have also seen in recent times is this extreme focus on poker machines. I understand that there is a very vocal, extremist minority that is hell-bent on closing the clubs industry and, indeed, on completely removing poker machines from Australia. For many, this has become an obsession. That obsession is being entertained particularly by Greens elected members around the country. In jurisdictions like this one, where the Labor Party requires Greens support to survive, we are also entertaining this obsession here. This is despite the fact that electronic gaming of this nature is a declining form of gambling. At a meeting involving most gambling ministers earlier in the year, the federal Minister for Human Services, Mr Alan Tudge, said:
Online gambling is growing faster than any other form of gambling …
I repeat: “Online gambling is growing faster than any other form of gambling.” He continued:
… and the incidence of problem gambling is higher.
The minister went on to say:
The gambling problems of the future will all come from the online space …
Why we are continuing to focus on this very narrow gambling space—poker machines—is beyond me. Let us talk about the amazing contribution that our clubs make to the ACT. Our clubs are not-for-profit organisations. I still think this is one of the biggest reasons that we have the lowest problem gambling rates in the country. We are not talking about multinational entities that are focused entirely on profit.
The ACT clubs industry remains a massive contributor to our city. They provide an amazingly diverse range of services. The level of infrastructure is so impressive—20 bowling greens, a tennis facility, a hockey centre, a basketball stadium, three cricket fields, a yacht club, a race track, a BMX track and five football fields. I recall having a conversation in a committee hearing where the sports and rec area were asked if it would be possible for the government to jump in and maintain these sort of facilities if the clubs sector was not doing it. The answer was categorically no.
This stuff is really important to the community. According to the KPMG national clubs census, our clubs provide $39 million in social contribution, employ 1,745 people, have 327,000 members across the territory and pay $73 million in taxes. As a group of elected members, I understand that we have some differing positions in the gambling space. I get that, and I understand that we will be debating some of those when we deal with another matter tomorrow. Leaving all of that aside, can we genuinely embrace what our clubs have done and what they are doing for the ACT?
Is it too much to ask for the government to just let bygones be bygones and genuinely engage with the peak body representing the vast bulk of our clubs? Despite all of the noise that is being created on the extreme edges of this debate, can we not create some breathing space and some certainty in this space by committing to a moratorium on
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