Hawkins George: Gambling Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Hawkins George: Gambling Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8494] 
Hon GEORGE HAWKINS (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
: 
 We know when the Opposition is running out of things to say because its members start their speeches by talking about speed cameras rather than about the bill itself. That is the first thing I want to say. The second thing is that I want to tell the previous speaker that the Government appoints the members of the Casino Control Authority at the moment so it is no big deal that it appoints the members of the Gambling Commission. There is no big secret about that. Most members know that because they have read the bill before coming down to the Chamber but some have not. 
A number of clauses make it clear that the Gambling Commission is independent. Clause 198(2) requires the commission to make decisions independently of the Minister of Internal Affairs and of the Department of Internal Affairs. Clause 199 provides that the commission must be treated as a commission of inquiry. That is very very important indeed. That is in addition to the powers under the bill. The Government Administration Committee inserted clause 199A which allows the commission to appoint experts to assist it and that is very important. If the previous speaker had read that she would have understood that. The select committee also inserted clause 201A which requires the commission to report annually to the Minister of Internal Affairs on its activities and for the report itself to be tabled in Parliament. That is very very important. We do not have those sorts of controls across all forms of gambling that go on so this provision encompasses all of that. The commissioners will be able to report to this Parliament through the Minister of Internal Affairs and I dare say they will raise any concerns they have. That is really important also. 
The bill provides that there must be a clear separation between staff in the regulation of gambling and those who provide administrative support to the Gambling Commission. So the Department of Internal Affairs will not have its hands playing marionettes; it will make sure that the Gambling Commission is independent and that there will not be political pressure. All those Opposition members should think about the way in which they would operate things. They would start putting pressure on people but that is not the way it is done. As a country we have moved on from those days and I think that that is very important. 
I also want to say that the Lotteries Commission and the Lottery Grants Board will carry on. The Lotteries Commission is doing a very very good job and it is getting even better. I think that people realise that the commission is overcoming difficulties that most other lottery bodies around the world are experiencing. They are losing funding with perhaps the exception of India where funding in lotteries is going up. In most places it is going down. I think that our Lotteries Commission has stopped the rot and is now making some progress. [ 
Interruption 
] Well the member is talking about buildings. When the commission was run by the Tories it used to have a flat on top of the building. That has gone. It used to have a big wine rack. That has gone. I say again the Lotteries Commission is doing a tremendous job.