Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare and Early Childhood Learning) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today with a message—a message for all those in this House but for one member of the House in particular, the member for Denison. I would like the member for Denison to receive this particular message for it is he who, in a handshake deal with the Prime Minister, now holds the future employment of hundreds, and I do mean many hundreds, of people in my electorate in his hands. These are the people who are actively employed in roles with the registered clubs industry in my electorate of Farrer. It could be the bar tender at the Wakool and District Services Memorial Club, it might even be the apprentice chef at the Broken Hill Barrier Social Democratic Club or maybe it is the part-time duty manager at the Jerilderie Sports Club. It could be one of these jobs that will go under the member for Denison's proposed gambling reforms—or it could be all three.

I do not know if the member has visited Wakool or Broken Hill or Jerilderie. I suspect that he has not been to Finley, so let me take members of the House there. Last week, the ABC 7.30 program decided to pick a town on the map to find out what effect the mandatory precommitment legislation might have. It was Finley, and from one town in rural New South Wales the message was pretty clear. If these reforms go ahead, an estimated 40 people's jobs are immediately at risk. This is from a town with a population of 2,000 people. That is 40 people out of work—two per cent of the entire population of one town. I hope the member for Denison and, indeed, the crossbench members of the House who also hold these jobs in their hands hear this figure loud and clear—two per cent of the workforce in one small country town.

The Productivity Commission estimates less than one per cent of the population are problem gamblers. Yes, like every community, there will be a very small component of the population in Finley who have a problem with gambling. And yes, there is a fair chance that this could occur at the lever of a poker machine. But killing off two per cent of one town's workforce to possibly address a problem for one per cent of the population is literally cracking the nut with a sledgehammer.

Mr Deputy Speaker, I bring you the message from the small towns in my electorate: Finley, Wakool, Broken Hill, Jerilderie and from every other town and community where I come from. I have 66 of these clubs, probably more per person than any other part of this nation. I feel this issue very strongly. I also think I could have given the member for Denison a heads up if pokies were anywhere near the problem he feels they are causing. At risk here are hundreds of people's livelihoods and hundreds of millions of dollars ripped from the heart of the bush by one single piece of well-intended but misplaced legislation.

On that note, I said at the opening that I wish to give the member for Denison a message. That message is that I congratulate him on his efforts and desire to curb problem gambling. It is an admirable cause and a principle that no-one in this House would disagree with. The issue here for him and every member is that for every problem, including gambling, there is a cause and an effect. The cause of problem gambling can be a type of illness, or ill discipline if you prefer. I personally offer the member for Denison my support to treat the cause of problem gambling, but I will not help him just target the effect—not in this manner—and neither should any member who has one of these smaller registered clubs in their electorate.

See this speech in context