Page 1635 - Week 05 - Thursday, 5 May 2016
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income diversification for clubs was the main game. The PAC inquiry was public recognition of the fact that ACT clubs will not be able to rely on pokie revenue into the future.
It is a difficult issue. There is no silver bullet. The PAC inquiry recommended several things, and the government has responded to that inquiry. The PAC recommendation that I did agree with was that entertainment precincts should be established around clusters of multiple clubs to ensure that they are able to host events such as live music, and this is the kind of practical measure that I believe will help clubs diversify their income streams. Certainly the inquiry heard some very positive examples of initiatives that have been taken to diversify income streams.
I think one of the other dilemmas we face is that community clubs present themselves as family friendly environments, and then they expose children to banks of flashing lights and computer game-like pokie machines when they are taken to the club for dinner. We know that this exposure helps to normalise gambling in impressionable young minds the same way as saturation coverage of betting odds during televised football games does.
Members may be aware of the insidious way that the gambling industry has converged with the videogame industry in recent years. Simulated gambling-like experiences are being inserted into free phone apps and games using hooks like random reward schedules, the illusion of skill, and audio-visual stimulation. Practising gambling through these apps makes it look fun and harmless and a normal part of everyday life.
We have a generation of children who cannot watch their favourite sports on TV or play a computer game on their parents’ phone without being groomed to gamble. It is in this environment that the community gaming model is in fact becoming less important because it is being, to some extent, overwhelmed.
I have spoken in recent days about the distribution of gaming machines in the ACT. Woden town centre alone has 689 poker machines. Mr Reeves of ClubsACT has contacted me this morning to remind me that in fact I should consider a three-kilometre radius, because that is what the Gambling and Racing Commission considers. If I did that I am sure the numbers would only increase.
Yes, I think we must acknowledge and celebrate the importance of clubs in our community, but let us also be honest enough to reflect on the fact that the generosity of clubs is fuelled by revenue channelled through poker machines. That is the honest debate we need to have. Maybe as a community we can decide that that is okay and maybe we can and we probably should do more to enhance harm minimisation. But let us have those discussions. Let us not sugar coat the grim reality that affects some of the most vulnerable in our community, and the fact that our clubs are propped up, to a very large extent, by revenue from poker machines.
MR HANSON (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (4.10): I have been accused by Mr Barr of playing up to an audience, so I will try to entertain the guests that we have here today. I welcome them. I note that Mr Barr has departed, and that is a little
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