Page 797 - Week 03 - Thursday, 2 April 2020
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Consideration must also be given to the suspension of at least the second gambling harm levy. I understand that, in times like this, historically there has been an increase in gambling, but it is certainly not happening in clubs. We should potentially look at a freeze in contributions to the Chief Minister’s charitable fund. Our clubs are on the canvas. Decisions made in this space will determine whether they get up and fight on or whether they are down for the count.
MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts, Creative Industries and Cultural Events, Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Minister for Business and Regulatory Services and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (3.58): I am very pleased to speak in support of this important bill. I want to place on record my appreciation to both Mr Parton and Mr Hanson for their cooperative engagement with me and my office in the briefings on this bill over previous days.
I want to take a few moments to outline some of the changes in the areas that are under my responsibility as Attorney-General. This bill includes measures that will assist Canberra’s community clubs. They are now substantially unable to operate, in order to comply with public health measures to slow the spread of COVID-19. The government recently announced the first phase of a support package for ACT clubs. This included the provision of a $1.5 million contribution to supplement the existing $1.8 million that is held by the diversification and sustainability support fund. This is to assist clubs to retain workers in the clubs sector.
I can assure members, the chamber and the community that the process by which those funds are being distributed to the clubs is very streamlined and very simple. It is, at the same time, enabling the accountability and transparency that the opposition is calling for in relation to all of the measures in the bill.
The bill amends the Gaming Machine Act to implement the following additional measures to provide relief and support to the clubs industry. Club payments to the diversification and sustainability support fund will be suspended for the next 12 months and will sunset at that stage, along with the other provisions in this bill. This will amount to approximately $1 million that clubs do not have to pay.
Changes will also allow me to treat payment of wages and financial support to staff as a community purpose contribution where a state of emergency or public health emergency declaration has been made. Other amendments will allow clubs to claim, as a community purpose contribution, $2 for every dollar that they contribute to charitable support by preparing or providing food for emergency-affected people. This will not only provide ongoing support for the sustainability of clubs but also help to strengthen their ongoing diversification and support people in Canberra who are doing it tough. This is, indeed, a situation where there are many winners in a very difficult situation.
The amendments to the Supreme Court Act 1933 will, for a limited period, allow certain offences against laws of the territory to be heard by a judge alone, either upon election of the defendant or where it is in the interests of justice. In the current situation, where it is clearly more than likely that jury trials will be unable to proceed
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