Page 2964 - Week 10 - Friday, 8 October 2021
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authorisation surrendered, to be used towards the employment of staff, diversification activities and initiatives, and energy and water efficiency measures. This initiative has brought the number of gaming machine authorisations now in operation down to 3,864.
I have also extended the measures in the Gaming Machine (Emergency Community Purpose Contribution—Local Live Performance Industry) Declaration by three months, until 30 November 2021, to provide support to both the clubs and local live performance industries, in connection with the COVID-19 public health directions. Clubs can claim contributions made to or for the local live performance industry for music or other live entertainment, other than sport, as community purpose contributions. The funding can be used to meet 100 per cent of a venue’s expected costs between 1 June and 30 November this year for engaging artists and technicians and up to 50 per cent of marketing and promotion costs. The extension of this initiative should assist clubs to continue to play a key role in Canberra’s social events by providing music and other live entertainment, other than sport, for club members and patrons.
Madam Speaker, this government is committed to implementing effective gaming reforms and initiatives to assist the ACT community club industry and to minimise gaming-related harm to our community. I look forward to providing further updates to the Assembly as the commitments are implemented throughout this term of government.
I present the following paper:
Government commitments to reduce harm from gaming while supporting sustainable clubs—Progress—Ministerial statement, 8 October 2021.
I move:
That the Assembly take note of the paper.
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (10.29): I would like to respond to Mr Rattenbury by acknowledging that in his time in this portfolio space he has been much more open to listening than his predecessor. But I cannot help but get the sense that this statement has missed the mark. I know it is a statement about the progress of the government’s commitments to reduce harm from gaming—I get that—but it has missed the mark in terms of the effect that the pandemic has had. In its final paragraphs, the statement has touched on the effects of the pandemic on our clubs, but I fear that those impacts have not been taken into account fully by the minister—certainly not as covered in this statement.
Mr Rattenbury gave some figures on the maximum that some clubs could be eligible for under business support grants. When I was speaking to one gentleman from a particular club, he suggested that that amount was pretty much what they lost in August when you take into account that in August they were operating for the first week and a half. When we put September, October, November and December on top of that, we can see that we need to get a grip on the fact that the pandemic has brought
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