Page 752 - Week 03 - Thursday, 2 April 2020
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reality is that a number of those clubs may never open their doors again. We are certainly hoping that that is not the case. I understand that we are not going to spend a great deal of time on this, but I do not know that we should be spending much time discussing the nuts and bolts of community contributions, in particular about percentages of in-kind and cash donations, for the current financial year. The current financial year is a basket case. The current financial year is a complete disaster, and I would certainly hope that no representative of this government would go chasing down and penalising a club for not fulfilling its community contributions in this financial year. Indeed, I would not expect that that would be the case.
We will not be opposing this bill, but I think we need to accept that many landscapes have been changed and will be completely changed, remarkably, in the next few months. Clubland is one of those landscapes, and I think we have seen that acknowledged by the government in terms of the bill that will be debated this afternoon. There will be no opposition from us on this bill. Let us get on with the important stuff.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (10.48): The ACT Greens will be supporting the Gaming Machine Amendment Bill. It gives clarity to the private sector about their obligations under the act, allows for a transition of arrangements, particularly for small and medium clubs, and provides an opportunity to review. We have clearly seen the need for a review of the community contributions scheme to make sure that it is addressing community need and gambling harm, as well as working appropriately for the clubs. We included these matters in part of the parliamentary agreement, and this bill supports that agreement and that process.
The club sector is one of many enduring significant hardship in the current environment of the COVID-19 crisis. I note the assistance provided by the government in recent weeks, and I hope that the minister and the rest of the government continue to engage with the clubs and stakeholders in the sector to ensure viability of these important community hubs as we move through the pandemic and into the future. In brief, we are supporting the bill today.
MR RAMSAY (Ginninderra—Attorney-General, Minister for the Arts, Creative Industries and Cultural Events, Minister for Building Quality Improvement, Minister for Business and Regulatory Services and Minister for Seniors and Veterans) (10.49), in reply: I am pleased to be able to close this debate on the Gaming Machine Amendment Bill. I appreciate the contributions from across the chamber—notably short ones today—in support of this bill. The spread of COVID-19 is having a profound impact on the way of life in the territory, and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Over the coming months, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19, our community clubs, which play a vital role in our community, will not be able to provide a physical space for the community to gather. This is necessary from a public health perspective, but it will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the clubs industry, as it will for many other Canberra businesses.
The government has recently announced the first phase of support for ACT clubs. This includes the provision of a $1.5 million contribution to supplement the existing $1.8 million that is held by the diversification and sustainability support fund to assist
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