Page 1136 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 10 April 2018
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sharing of best practice between venues and ensuring the appropriate staff training and self-exclusion rules.
The roundtable recognised the unique opportunity in Canberra to be a national leader in developing innovative harm minimisation measures. It is clear that a comprehensive approach to reform of the sector is necessary so that the impacts of problem gambling are not simply shifted to another mode or another place of gambling. Everyone at the roundtable recognised that we have the momentum to develop, implement and evaluate stronger interventions to reduce harm caused by gambling. We will do so with the input of everyone in the sector including clubs, academic experts, community organisations and people with lived experience of problem gambling, and we can move forward knowing that we share a common goal in achieving stronger harm minimisation.
This government has recognised the importance of workers in this process, and for that reason I also convened a roundtable of club workers and their union representatives last year to seek their views on harm minimisation. The club industry employs around 1,745 Canberrans. As clubs transition away from gaming machine revenue into new opportunities and revenue streams this will impact on the services clubs provide and, as a result, the types of work available in clubs.
In addition, club workers are well positioned to provide insights about the types of diversification activities that would be successful within each club community. Club workers are integral to reducing gambling harm and developing diverse, sustainable clubs. That is why the terms of reference for Mr Stevens’s review include a direction to consult with workers in the industry as well as individual clubs and peak bodies.
The roundtables are yet another example of the government’s engaging closely with clubs, with experts and with the broader community to achieve our shared goals. Our forward agenda includes a commitment to review the community contribution scheme and to implement new harm minimisation measures based on evidence. We will continue to consult, to engage and to listen as we have throughout this term.
At the beginning of this term of government I identified harm minimisation as one of my key portfolio priorities. The government is delivering on its commitment and it is doing so with a clear vision of having both strong protections against gambling harm and a strong, diverse and community-focused clubs sector. The independent review process will give the government and our clubs a foundation for a shared vision of the industry in Canberra. Together we can achieve a reduction in the number of gaming machines and better protections against gambling harm and we can foster a stronger and more sustainable clubs sector.
This community has made its expectations about gambling harm minimisation clear: more and stronger measures are needed. Our work to reach 4,000 gaming machine authorisations is just one more step in a broad, community-wide approach to minimising the impacts of problem gambling. This government has delivered stronger measures to meet our community’s expectations about the gaming industry, and we will keep working to deliver more.
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