Page 4651 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 31 October 2017
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We have redesigned the Access Canberra website so that it is easier to find the information that you need. This has included a “pay online” button, so that customers can more quickly interact with us. We have launched a new fix my street website, which provides a greater level of information on services available in each suburb, as well as letting users know where a number of types of jobs have been logged in their suburb.
We also brought together our events and liquor team in Access Canberra. They provide a case-managed service for people seeking to hold an event or open a liquor business in the territory. They will do all they can to help Canberrans get their business ideas over the line. This will ensure that event organisers and business owners have all the necessary approvals in place. It is estimated they are saving each event organiser 10 hours of administrative work per event. We will continue to make improvements to our regulatory system to make it easier for people to interact with government. We will continue to listen to people in the ACT for ideas on how this can happen.
A key priority for this government that we have identified in our election commitments, and that I have personally undertaken to deliver, is to strengthen our regulation of electronic gaming machines. This government came to the ninth Assembly with a clear mandate to implement robust gambling harm minimisation measures.
We have already delivered on that mandate by bringing forward a tax rebate to help small and medium clubs transition away from gaming machines as a source of revenue; by limiting cash withdrawals from EFTPOS machines in clubs to $200 per transaction, and requiring interaction with a trained staff member for all withdrawals; and by increasing the problem gambling assistance fund levy, to provide more funding to help people affected by problem gambling.
We recognise that we need to keep looking at the evidence and doing even more. That is why in September I convened a harm minimisation roundtable with representatives of clubs, people with lived experience of problem gambling, community organisations, academic experts and regulators. The roundtable was the first time a group of stakeholders like this had been brought together to share views and work collaboratively to address problem gambling in the ACT. There was a shared vision of preserving and enhancing the community benefits offered by clubs while at the same time effectively minimising the risks that gambling poses through electronic gaming machines.
In addition to bringing in new harm minimisation rules, we will reduce the number of gaming machines overall. There will be 4,000 authorisations for gaming machines in the territory by 2020, down from the current 5,000. In implementing this commitment, we will continue to support clubs in offering their important community benefits like sport and recreation.
Our policy towards the gaming and racing sector is focused on community benefits and community values. The greyhound racing industry is out of step with community
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