Page 1134 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 10 April 2018
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Last week, I announced the engagement of Mr Neville Stevens AO to report on options to help clubs reduce their reliance on gaming machine revenue. The independent review follows a year of delivering stronger gambling harm prevention laws while supporting clubs to move away from gaming machine revenue. Mr Stevens is an experienced former senior public servant, serving as secretary and deputy secretary of a number of departments, including the Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce and the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.
During Mr Stevens’ tenure in the communications portfolio he was closely involved with extensive reform in the telecommunications sector and the development of the Australian information technology industry. He brings a wealth of experience and understanding in progressing significant changes within a regulated industry.
Under his terms of reference, Mr Stevens will meet with clubs, peak bodies and with workers in the clubs industry. The terms of reference for this review have been informed by detailed consultation with the clubs sector. Throughout the past year officials of my directorate circulated a discussion paper about options to reach 4,000 gaming machine authorisations. JACS officials and my staff also met with club industry representatives to further explore their issues.
During this process clubs expressed a diversity of views about the best pathways to reduce the number of gaming machine authorisations. One thing that became clear is that a one-size-fits-all approach to diversification will not work. We have a diverse clubs sector that offers a wide range of community services including sport, entertainment and multicultural events. The framework that we will use to make decisions about support for clubs to move away from gaming needs to take account of that diversity. That is why the terms of reference call for options to provide financial and non-financial incentives to encourage clubs to reduce their number of authorisations. Land use, regulatory measures and tax incentives are examples of the range of options that can be considered.
The terms of reference also call for a framework for entering agreements with clubs that do participate, and this is to ensure that any support measures offered, financial or non-financial, come with a way of ensuring that clubs maintain a focus on diversification and community benefits. The review will help us make decisions about how to implement the shift to 4,000 gaming machine authorisations in a way that is transparent and promotes a sustainable, diverse and community-focused clubs sector.
In announcing the review the government set a definite timetable for achieving the reduction in gaming machine authorisations. The club industry diversification support analysis will be completed and a report provided to me by 31 May this year. Following that the government will begin a phased process of reducing machines by 1 April 2019. The full commitment of 4,000 authorisations will be reached by no later than 1 May 2020.
This industry landscape is clearly changing and many in the clubs sector are already looking at ways to move away from gaming revenue, and I commend them for this
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