Worth Richard: Gambling Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeWorth Richard: Gambling Amendment Bill (No 2) — Second Reading[Sitting date: 05 May 2009. Volume:654;Page:2895. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon Dr RICHARD WORTH (Minister of Internal Affairs):In a crowded House and before a full gallery I move That the Gambling Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a second time. The bill amends the Gambling Act 2003. We have progressed this bill which was introduced by the previous Government because it responds to a number of issues that have been identified while implementing and administering the Act. I think it is important to resolve those issues and clarify the law because large sums of money are at stake in the gambling sector. The bill does not contain any major policy changes. Instead a few small policy amendments and many technical amendments proposed by the bill are all about making the Act operate as originally intended.I would like to briefly summarise some of the measures contained in the bill. One of the Act’s objectives is to ensure the fairness and integrity of games. To further assist with the achievement of this objective the bill introduces minimum disclosure requirements for non-cash prizes. The Act of course already contains a prize disclosure regime but it is only partially achieved and in quite a fragmented way. Introducing a statutory requirement for the accurate disclosure of all non-cash prizes would increase certainty and it would remove any inconsistencies between different types of gambling.The bill contains a number of measures intended to assist its community funding objectives. I just highlight these in the opportunity I have to speak. First of all these include clauses requiring venues that host gaming machines on behalf of gaming-machine societies to bank community profits directly into the society’s dedicated account. This amendment responds to the practice whereby some venues have been banking society money in their own accounts for a few days and occasionally have not been able to account for it when it is time to bank the money into the society’s bank account. Second there are also explicit obligations on community grant recipients to use grants from gaming-machine proceeds appropriately including an offence for non-compliance. That measure obviously reduces the risk of grant recipients misappropriating gaming-machine proceeds. Third conflict of interest safeguards are extended to all persons who make decisions on gaming-machine grants. Currently they apply only to those people with key roles in the management of the society. Fourth the bill specifies in more detail the circumstances in which a gaming-machine society such as a club can apply gaming-machine proceeds to its own purposes as opposed to when it can make grants to community groups. At present the Act does not provide sufficient clarity on that point.There are also a number of measures intended to assist with the achievement of the Act’s harm prevention and minimisation objectives. One provision clarifies a grey area relating to the identification of problem gamblers by gambling venues. New section 309A inserted by clause 82 states that gaming machine and casino operators have an ongoing duty to “take all reasonable steps to assist a person” they have identified as a potential problem gambler. Essentially this means it will not be enough for an operator to just approach a person on one occasion provide information about problem gambling and then take no further action if the person’s gambling behaviour continues to cause concern. The bill also provides that gambling venue staff do not have to issue venue exclusion orders to persons who approach them and identify themselves as problem gamblers if those persons do not provide a reasonable means of identification such as a recent photograph. The requirement to provide a recent photo will assist venue staff with the re-identification of excluded problem gamblers who return to a venue in defiance of their exclusion orders. The bill also makes a number of modifications to the Act’s harm prevention and minimisation regulation-making powers.The bill recognises the importance of gambling-related research with the inclusion of a clause designed to make it easier to conduct research on gambling in real-life gambling environments. The clause authorises the Secretary for Internal Affairs to temporarily approve the operation of gambling equipment in a venue for the purpose of testing whether the equipment’s introduction is consistent with the Act’s objectives.The bill provides more flexibility for clubs who wish to merge in order to address financial viability issues. By clubs I mean organisations like RSAs and chartered clubs. The Act currently allows two or more clubs to apply for ministerial approval to operate up to 30 gaming machines at the venue on which they merge. However they may merge only on to an existing 18-machine venue. The number of 18-machine venues is limited. So the bill will allow clubs to apply for ministerial approval to operate additional machines at any venue even if that venue would not otherwise be an 18-machine venue. They would still be subject to territorial authority consent. Other provisions in the bill and in fact in the Act would mean that this would lead to an overall increase in the number of gaming machines.In addition a number of clauses in the bill are designed to assist the Gambling Commission with the performance of its functions. One clause enhances the Gambling Commission’s protection from liability along similar lines to the immunities provided to statutory entities under the Crown Entities Act 2004. The clause provides the commission with the flexibility to determine when it sits as a division and to decide whether the division includes the Chief Gambling Commissioner.The bill of course was reported back by the Government Administration Committee during the last Parliament. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the committee for its work on the bill during the last Parliament. I note that the committee reported the bill back with a number of amendments for the House to consider. These amendments have the Government’s support. I would like to make a few comments on some of them.One of the amendments recommended by the committee is the insertion of a new clause clarifying and enhancing an existing provision that allows the Secretary for Internal Affairs to collect gambling-related information from gambling operators together with an obligation to make the information that is collected available to the public. Information on grants made to the community by gaming-machine operators is a very good example of the type of material that could be collected under this clause. I believe there is a clear desire on the part of the public to be more informed about what happens to the community funds generated by gaming machines in their district. In fact I have very strong views on this issue. A more informed public is in a better position to form a view on whether there is a net benefit from gambling in its district. For similar reasons more information on grants will also assist territorial authorities and community groups when territorial authorities review their gambling venue policies. Essentially this clause will assist in facilitating community involvement in gambling which is one of the Act’s key objectives and for that reason it is a worthwhile addition to the bill.Another amendment that was recommended by the committee concerns the definition of a “gaming machine”. The current definition is very wide and it has the potential to unintentionally capture ancillary gambling equipment like electronic card shufflers used in casinos which do not need to be regulated as gaming machines. The committee has recommended changes to the definition which should eliminate this problem.The committee has also proposed some useful enhancements to the Act’s processes for identifying problem gamblers and excluding them from gambling venues.Finally the committee recommended a number of amendments that protect the privacy of excluded problem gamblers. All of these clauses will assist in preventing and minimising gambling-related harm which as members will know is one of the Act’s key objectives.In closing and in a message to Labour I would like to touch again on the issues around the distribution of funds generated by gaming machines. I just say and place it on the record that I am particularly keen to ensure two things.Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member’s time has expired.