Page 943 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 26 July 1989
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mistake and written the cheque out. I find that implausible to say the least.
The suggestion has also been made that there have been no criminal connections with casinos in Australia. This is not true. Unfortunately, this information was not presented to the committee by the police in Tasmania, by casino authorities or by government authorities. It was unfortunate that I had to look at a newspaper casino file in Adelaide before I gained some of this information. The information showed - and I presented this to the committee - that indeed there were two companies who are now intimately connected with the operation of casinos in Australia which had or have directors who have been brought to police notice for reasons of impropriety or criminal behaviour. There is apparently a case in Western Australia where charges have recently been laid.
The fact of criminals being attracted to the casino area in Australia - do not worry about America - is highlighted by the recent look by the New South Wales Government into casinos. They called for submissions by companies who were interested in obtaining a casino licence. There were four submissions to the New South Wales Government, none of which was deemed to be acceptable - not one. This is in Australia.
We have only spoken to police in two areas, the Tasmanian police commissioner, who has been working in Tasmania for the last 18 months, and also the Australian Federal Police. The Australian Federal Police said crime will increase in Canberra if a casino is allowed.
They also said that Canberra has a particular attraction for criminals, particularly from New South Wales, because they can come down here for a short while, do their deeds and then leave and in 20 minutes they are out of the jurisdiction of Canberra. Police cited experiences involving these occurrences. People have come down for the Black Opal races, committed crime and then left.
While we were in Tasmania we heard from a government worker who has been associated with Gamblers Anonymous for a number of years. He gave us an interesting profile of compulsive gamblers. They become compulsive cheats, compulsive liars and compulsive thieves. There is no doubt that social welfare problems will increase if we proceed with the casino. In my dissent to the report I mentioned that there will be marriage break-ups. If Tasmania is a guide, there will also be suicides brought about by compulsive gambling.
The major area of crime, I suggest, will not be from street crime but will be caused by gamblers trying to fund their habits. If we assume that the extra 86 habitual gamblers, as mentioned in our report and in the social impact study, succumb to their addiction, and they and their families require social welfare assistance, psychiatric and
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