Dunne Peter: Gambling Amendment Bill (No 3) — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDunne Peter: Gambling Amendment Bill (No 3) — In Committee[Sitting date: 09 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6462. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon PETER DUNNE (Minister of Internal Affairs): Let me respond to some of the points that have been raised during the course of the debate so far. Can I begin by acknowledging the support for the general principle of the bill that most members of the Committee have espoused. This is a constructive piece of legislation and I acknowledge the general support that it has received.The issue that has attracted the most interest is around clause 6 and I will talk about that in a moment. I also want to address the point about harm reduction issues. I need to say to the Committee that I am in a somewhat unusual position. As Minister of Internal Affairs I am the regulator; as Associate Minister of Health I am the Minister responsible for problem gambling issues which puts me in a unique position that I have to talk to myself constantly. That is quite relevant in this particular discussion.With regard to clause 6 which is the issue that has exercised the Committee—what clause 6 in effect does is open the possibility for commission payments. It does not per se introduce commission payments. What we are doing is changing the venue payment system which is inefficient and clunky and outmoded and very complicated to a more facilitative arrangement that will be devised through consultation with the sector with the Problem Gambling Foundation and with anyone else who has a particular view to express. We have not finalised decisions on that model but we want to leave open a range of possibilities.I also want to acknowledge in my health role that there are serious issues relating to problem gambling and I am not in favour of using a commission-based system to incentivise further gambling opportunities. But when we have as a result of the 2003 Act a national sinking lid and when we have work that is required as part of that legislation every 3 years to set a problem gambling levy and to set in place a programme of work that has to be done regarding harm minimisation and related issues you have got to look at the total package.The issues that Mr Lees-Galloway and others have referred to are more appropriately dealt with through the work around the problem gambling levy. We are currently in the process of striking that levy for the next 3 years. The consultations are going on literally as we speak; the recommendations will come back via the Gambling Commission later in the year and I expect that levy from memory will be promulgated in the first quarter of next year for the next 3 years and a series of activities will be identified as part of that process. That is where a lot of the issues regarding harm minimisation are likely to be addressed.On the commission one as I indicated this is a facilitative clause. At this point we will be consulting further about the detail and nature of that before a new payments regime is implemented but the important point is to get something that is more efficient more effective and less administratively complex.That brings me to a final point that I want to make which really underpins this legislation and I think goes to the point that the Hon Ruth Dyson was driving at. The speed of change in this environment is intensifying and what we need to have in our legislative structure is sufficient flexibility to be able to meet new challenges as they emerge. The preceding bill to this one as members joked at the time with a degree of accuracy took 7 years to pass. This bill is actually far quicker than that but it is still a long process to change the law every time we meet new situations. So what we are trying to do here is move to a more streamlined approach where we do have a greater degree of flexibility to meet some of the new challenges that will emerge in the future. I have indicated previously and I repeat it tonight that there is further work under way beyond the scope of this legislation that I expect to come to fruition over the next little while.But if I can just sum up for the Committee we have a situation at the moment where we need to make the gambling industry fair and responsible. We need to deal with the issues around harm minimisation and problem gambling. We have constructive and comprehensive strategies on both. This is the legislative regulatory framework. The other matters are dealt with through other mechanisms. Overall I believe this bill as it is before the Committee at the moment is a step forward and ought to be supported.