Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Madam Deputy Speaker Rishworth, I know this is an issue that is close to your heart as well, and you have expressed your concerns on problem gambling many times before in the House. This is a very important motion, and I think it does add to the debate. The government has its own set of reforms and methods of tackling problem gambling, but I do think the member for Lyne should be commended for bringing this matter to the House and bringing it up for discussion. I think there are many interesting points in it, and I have to say that I personally have talked about such things, in my maiden speech and many other times after that, because I think the addiction to poker machines is a particularly virulent social evil in our community. It is often unseen and unrecognised. We need to tackle it. The national parliament needs to tackle it. We need to tackle it in the same way—as the previous speakers talked about—we tackle tobacco, which was a big donator and a very influential industry that threw its weight around in this building. We need to tackle problem gambling and the poker machine industry in the same way we tackled the tobacco industry, and that is by a series of bipartisan reforms over a decade or so to try and curb the virulent nature of the problems they cause.

The member for Lyne is to be congratulated. I think he, as always, has provided us with much to think about. The points on taxation are quite important. It is very hard for state governments. One of our former Liberal premiers in South Australia said that it was his greatest regret that he did not do anything about poker machines. Of course he could not. If he got rid of poker machines, which hospital was he going to close? For some state premiers, that is literally the revenue implication of poker machine reform. I think these are important issues for us to discuss and look at.

The government, through Prime Minister Gillard and Minister Macklin—who are very committed to this issue—put in place a number of reforms. All poker machines manufactured by the end of next year must be capable of supporting precommitment. All poker machines must be part of a state-linked voluntary precommitment system by 2016, excepting eligible smaller venues, which have more time. Poker machines must have electronic warnings and must display cost of play by 2016. There will be a $250 daily withdrawal limit set at ATMs in gaming venues by 2013.

These are significant reforms and, if you had talked about them at the start of our reform, they would have been seen as being a very, very ambitious gambling package. Of course, now that the parliament is talking about these things, they do seem workmanlike and practical, whereas some of the solutions that are advocated by Senator Xenophon and Mr Wilkie are more ambitious. I have personally advocated more ambitious restraints in the poker machine industry generally.

I think the government have put forward a pretty significant package. We wait to see what the opposition intend to do about it. As usual they have been a bit slippery about their policy commitments. I suspect that, at the end of the day, they will back the pokies industry. They will back the big end of town the way they always do. There will be a few cursory comments about local clubs and the like, but they will not acknowledge the damage done by these machines and they will not acknowledge that it is the big end of town. Of course, we know what is behind it all for the coalition—that is, the significant donations that are made by entities.

Mr Tudge interjecting—

Well, by entities. I am more than happy to acknowledge those donations. Perhaps what we need is a bipartisan focus not to take the money. Then people would be able to judge our actions on their policy merits. I think, frankly, taking money from industries which hurt people is not good for any political party and I would not advocate that anybody do it.

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