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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 9 Hansard (22 August) . . Page.. 3179 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

most significant and the most prominent form of gambling in the territory, certainly the one that this survey I have referred to demonstrates is the most serious problem in the ACT, namely gaming or poker machines.

I emphasise, Mr Deputy Speaker, that Mr Rugendyke's bill does not result in clubs being forced to close. Clubs that wish to trade for 24 hours a day may continue to do so. Indeed, as the figures I am going to disclose in a moment will reveal, clubs' viability will be very little affected by the fact that during a three-hour period in the early hours of the morning they will be unable to operate their poker machines.

I should note that the Gambling and Racing Commission is conducting a detailed review of the Gaming Machine Act, and this review will be looking at harm minimisation measures to be introduced to assist the control of gaming machines in the ACT. As members are aware, there is a very large number of possible measures that might be conducted in that regard; things such as the provision of clocks and warning signs on poker machines, the provision of natural light, perhaps restrictions on the note acceptors, and a whole host of other things as well. They will be considered by that review, and I think in due course that this Assembly will need to consider those measures at that time.

The commission is also developing an ACT gambling code of practice that will provide a comprehensive list of harm minimisation measures which all gambling providers will be required to follow. That code will be enforceable and will have penalties provided for in it.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the point that Mr Rugendyke makes in this legislation is that this is a problem of significant concern, with a serious and growing dimension, on which this Assembly, quite rightly, is being called to act. On that basis, as a basis for assessing how such measures might impact on the extent of problem gambling in the ACT at least, the ACT government is quite prepared to support this bill today.

I made mention of the fact that there was some information available to members about the extent of gaming machine use at certain hours of the day. As I said, there are nine clubs that trade 24 hours a day. The Gambling and Racing Commission formally sought information from the larger clubs in this group. Those clubs, incidentally, are the Canberra Southern Cross Club, the Canberra Labor Club, the Canberra Tradesmen's Union Club, the Tuggeranong Valley Rugby Union and Amateur Sports Club Incorporated, which has two branches or outlets that trade 24 hours a day, and the West Belconnen Leagues Club. Those clubs are representative because, between them, they represent a total of 1,452 machines, which is 80 per cent of the machines which operate over the 24-hour period, or the clubs that trade during 24-hour periods.

The information was presented by the clubs. It has not been verified or independently documented, Mr Deputy Speaker, but I believe we should take this as at least some indication of what is going on in the clubs. A compilation of the clubs' data, as I said, is available here for members to peruse.

The figures demonstrate that the average revenue per machine in respect of each day's prohibition period of three hours is a total of $3.40. It represents approximately 2.4 per cent of the estimated daily average revenue per machine of $141 which occurs in the

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