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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 6 Hansard (17 June) . . Page.. 1955 ..
MR STEFANIAK
(continuing):I should note at this stage that the figures which we're dealing with today might change. I understand a club has been given permission to have 12 machines. I also understand that there are appeal provisions which can be applied and which might apply here. I understand it has asked for a different number than that. That may or may not actually affect what occurs. But I do put on the record that my understanding is that another 12 machines have been allowed for allocation, but that could be subject to appeal.
In closing, the opposition will be supporting this bill and will be supporting the 12 months extension rather than the two years.
MS DUNDAS
(5.39): This bill is a stopgap measure to prevent further proliferation of pokies in Canberra. It is a simple extension of the cap that was introduced in July 1998. For the past five years, successive governments have promised a comprehensive review of the gaming machine legislation to result in a new, modern, regulatory framework for gaming machines in the ACT. Yet so far no new framework has been developed.The cap was originally proposed in 1998 to place an upper limit on the number of poker machines in the territory, while the necessary changes were made to the regulatory environment. A sunset clause was added the following year allowing the provision to expire in 2001. It was then extended in 2001 and again this time last year, when the minister stood up and told this Assembly that he needed an additional 12 months to provide us with a properly considered regulatory plan.
Instead we have nothing except a bill to extend the cap past the next election while the government twiddles its thumbs. Honestly this is not good enough. Why does the government need two more years to come up with a regulatory proposal? I understand that regulating poker machines is a complicated business, but it's not so complex as to take a further two years to review.
We've already had an Assembly inquiry and two Gambling and Racing Commission reports, which the government has had for the last six months. I do ask: what is the hold-up?
I have put forward a number of amendments to this bill that will help prevent inappropriate proliferation of poker machines while we wait yet again for the government to do the necessary work. I do not think the government needs an additional two years to finalise their ideas, so I want the extension on the cap limited to a year. One additional year should be more than enough for a government that is committed to reform.
Canberrans lose over $220 million a year to gambling, and nearly three-quarters of this is through poker machines. Poker machines remain the most popular form of gambling for problem gamblers in the ACT.
According to the survey on the nature and extent of problem gambling in the ACT, some $30 million is lost by problem gamblers on poker machines each year, or about 20 per cent of total poker machine revenue. The survey reported that over 5,000 adults were problem gamblers in the ACT. It estimated that each problem gambler negatively affects
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