Mark Coulton (Parkes, National Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Development and Emerging Trade Markets) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak about the Productivity Commission inquiry into gambling and the effects its recommendations may have if implemented on the community throughout regional Australia. Gambling addiction is one of the challenges that we face as a nation. I support any measures that are taken towards harm minimisation and helping those who are in the grip of this terrible dependency. But I speak tonight on behalf of the many clubs that operate in my electorate. People who live in larger metropolitan areas might not realise the important role that these clubs play. They are major sponsors of a whole range of sport. Many of them have their own bowling greens and golf courses; they support football teams; they have tennis courts; some even support chess teams. Quite often they are the only venue for entertainment in town. They are responsible for bringing in acts from outside the area that these people would not get to see on a regular basis.

I am concerned that there will be a move by some in this place, and maybe some in the other chamber, to restrict poker machines and, indeed, make them illegal and ban them altogether. While I personally have not played a poker machine since they took the handle off them and I am no particular fan of them, I believe that it would be throwing the baby out with the bath water. There is the amount of community capacity building that clubs put in and their sponsorship. It is a place for the community to gather. In my rounds as a local member, I have been to school presentations in the auditorium of the local club because it was the only venue in town that can handle an occasion like that. Indeed, my wedding some 29 years ago—our anniversary is on Sunday—was in the auditorium of the local club. It was the only venue in a small country town that could accommodate a community gathering of that nature.

I urge people in this place to take a cautious approach. Clubs have taken a responsible attitude to managing gambling. Managers that I have spoken to in the last few months have told me that they closely monitor their patrons. They have put rules in place for limitations on the amount of money that can be drawn from an ATM on a day or the amount of money that can be drawn on a cheque. Particularly in the smaller areas, many of the patrons are known to club staff. If addictive behaviour or excessive behaviour is noticed amongst their clientele there is a mentoring process. Club managers have discussed different ways that is managed.

To give you some idea of the amount of the contribution that clubs put in, one club in my electorate—the RSL Club in Dubbo—has indicated to me that its community contribution last year in donations to local sporting, aged care and community organisations was in excess of $400,000. That is just one of the clubs in the city of Dubbo, but one of dozens—probably hundreds—within my electorate.

It is important that these clubs are nurtured. Indeed, Clubs NSW has indicated that if some changes are brought in to restrict the clubs’ revenue, as many as 11,500 jobs could be lost right across New South Wales. That is a consideration that needs to be addressed. Finally, I do realise that gambling needs to be addressed, but I would like to recognise the wonderful contribution that clubs make to regional Australia. (Time expired)