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Chair's Preface
On the occasion of the committee's sixth and final report I
take this opportunity to provide a few final comments on the work of the
committee over the past almost three years.
First thank you to my fellow committee members. Many of them
have been with the committee since its beginning and I wish to thank them all
for their spirit of cooperation in this important area. The committee has
produced valuable work which I trust will continue to further progress reforms
to minimise harm from gambling.
Throughout its reports the committee had the benefit of the
work undertaken in 1999 and 2010 by the Productivity Commission and the
committee has worked its way through the same areas. The committee has covered most
forms of gambling in its six reports.[1]
The committee's first report covered the design and
implementation of a mandatory pre-commitment system for electronic gaming
machines. The government response to this is examined in the committee's fourth
report: National Gambling Reform Bill 2012 and related bills.
My personal view is that I wish the government had gone
further and achieved more during the Parliament in the area of poker machine
reform. The opportunity for real reform was not fully realised and this is
deeply disappointing.
However, the government legislation is a start. It is a
modest reform and I have tried my best to improve it. Importantly, it will
allow the federal government to progress gambling reform which until now has
been the exclusive domain of the states and territories. It puts them on notice
that harm minimisation measures must be effective or the federal government
will take further action. I hope it serves as a stepping stone to more
effective harm minimisation measures such as mandatory pre-commitment and/or $1
maximum bets.
The committee's second report covered interactive
and online gambling and gambling advertising and the Interactive Gambling and
Broadcasting Amendment (Online Transactions and Other Measures) Bill 2011.
Online gambling was another area the committee reviewed and
this encompassed access to casino type games via overseas sites and sports
wagering via domestic providers. In this report I originally indicated that the
best response to Australians using unregulated overseas websites to access
casino-type games would be to allow Australian operators to offer limited
gaming options with appropriate harm minimisation and consumer protection
measures in place. But having seen more evidence and taken more advice I have
decided that the best response is not to liberalise the Australian market, but
rather to tighten it up and put in place strategies to deter Australians from
accessing the dangerous offshore sites.[2]
Given the continuing concern over the promotion of gambling
services in sport, the committee undertook a short inquiry to update the
information on this area in its second report. The committee's fifth report covers
the advertising and promotion of gambling services in sport and a
related bill.
As in the committee's second report I again called for a total
ban not only on live odds promotion but all gambling advertising during sport.
I believe this is the only sufficiently cautious approach given the level of
community concern over the high level of exposure of children to betting
promotion.
The committee's third report considered the
prevention and treatment of problem gambling.
During all its inquiries, but particularly during its third
inquiry, the committee has emphasised the importance of a public or population
health approach to address problem gambling.[3]
When applied to gambling this emphasises the importance of preventative
measures as well as treatment and emphasises the responsibility of all stakeholders[4]
to minimise harm and not just the individual. In contrast, the industry wants
to keep the focus on the individual, on individual responsibility. It wants to
keep the focus off poker machines in particular because any change to the
machines will threaten the revenue stream from problem gamblers.
This sixth report covers the remaining matters referred
to the committee:
- Poker Machine Harm Reduction ($1 Bets and Other Measures) Bill
2012;
- Anti-Money Laundering Amendment (Gaming Machine Venues) Bill 2012;
and
- Interactive Gambling Amendment (Virtual Credits) Bill 2013.
During all its inquiries the committee heard about the need for
more research, the need to improve the evidence base, fill knowledge and data
gaps, improve coordination and develop the national research capacity. These
gaps in data collection and inconsistencies across gambling surveys conducted
by the states and territories were also highlighted by the Productivity
Commission (PC). These shortcomings limit research capacity and policy development.
The PC and the committee recommended a national independent gambling research
centre to drive and coordinate national research efforts.
I note that the Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC) within
the Australian Institute of Family Studies will be established from July 2013. The
government has indicated that many of the committee's recommendations will be
relevant to the work of the AGRC and that the committee's work will inform
consideration of their forward work agenda. While this does not completely
fulfil the committee's recommendation I hope it will be a way of helping to address
the current gaps and progressing appropriate and necessary research. However, I
remain concerned about the need for a national minimum dataset on gambling in line
with the recommendation by the PC and the need for governments to publicly
provide a basic level of nationally consistent and timely industry data on
gambling. I am also left with concerns about issues around research
independence and the need for transparency around the input of industry.
I wish to thank all the people and organisations who
contributed to the committee's inquiries. In particular I single out the people
who had dealt with or who were dealing with gambling problems who bravely told
the committee their stories in order to see changes made. I am sorry the
government lost its nerve on the issue of poker machines despite the
overwhelming calls for change.
I know it will be up to a future government to implement more
effective harm minimisation measures such as mandatory pre-commitment or
maximum $1 bets. The government legislation will ensure the system and machines
will be ready and I hope that a strong government with a good heart will take
that step. I trust that the work of the committee has and will continue to
assist that process.
Mr Andrew Wilkie MP
Chair
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