Bradford Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Bradford Sue: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:608;Page:5251] 
7.  
SUE BRADFORD (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Internal Affairs 
: Has he received any advice about the extent and cause of the increase in problem gambling in 2002; if so what is he planning to do about it? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
: 
 Yes the Responsible Gambling Bill includes a number of measures to prevent and minimise problem gambling. 
Sue Bradford 
: Given the dramatic 21 percent rise in problem gambling reported by the problem gambling committee just this week will the Minister now amend the Responsible Gambling Bill to make it more responsible and to give local councils the right to control the activities of pokie venues in their communities including pokie bars that were in place as of October 2001? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: The member knows that the Government has moved to make sure that local bodies have some part to play in the increase of gaming places in their own area. 
Dianne Yates 
: What does the Responsible Gambling Bill do to prevent and minimise problem gambling? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Among other things the bill as reported back provides for an integrated problem gambling strategy and requires gaming-machine societies and casino operators to develop a policy of identifying problem gamblers. 
Judith Collins 
: What advice and from whom has the Minister received on raising the problem gambling levy or excise and the effect of any such increase on the level of funds available to be distributed to sporting community and cultural groups via the gaming trusts? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: There is nothing in the Responsible Gambling Bill that deals with excise rates and if the member wants those she should ask the appropriate Minister. 
Judith Collins 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The question was what advice and from whom has the Minister received about raising the gaming tax and what is happening with it. In his answer he talked about what is in the Responsible Gambling Bill. Those are completely different issues. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No the Minister addressed the question that was asked. 
Marc Alexander 
: Is the Minister aware of any hard evidence or research that shows that an increase in the gaming levy will have any effect whatsoever on the rate of problem gambling? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: I think the member’s own leader in an article in the  
Nor’West Newsbrief 
 of 30 April stated that making the current system more transparent would help in that matter. 
Sue Bradford 
: Why does the Minister consider that local councils and local territorial authorities have only “some part to play” in determining exactly where and how many pokie-machines there should be in their own districts given that places like Manukau City have enormous problems caused by the proliferation of pokies? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: There is too much background noise. 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: Local government authorities already have powers in their planning to limit them and I think that what is in the bill goes a long way to minimising the harm of problem gambling in places like Manukau. 
Sue Bradford 
: Does the Minister think that the pokie trusts are the right way to distribute the proceeds of problem gambling given the 206 enforcement actions taken against them in the 8 months to February this year which include that of the New Zealand Community Trust site in Newtown where the manager controlled who could get the applications and that of the Pub Charity site at Bowland Porirua where Pub Charity awarded a grant to Bowland itself for an oiling machine? 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS 
: I think the member must realise that what she has told us shows that the present system is working.