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Other Parliamentary SpeechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches during parliament that do not fall under Questions or Questions without notice. They range from debating legislation, reporting on events or issues in his seat of Southport and his Ministerial Statements.
Gambling Policy |
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| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Mar 09 2006 |
| Other Speeches >> |
Mr LAWLOR (Southport-ALP) (5.12 pm):
I am pleased to participate in the debate on the motion moved by the Deputy Premier. I represent an electorate that has two of the biggest clubs in the state-the Southport Sharks and the Southport Workers Club, both of which I am a patron of. I am also patron of the Tigers Rugby League Club. There are at least eight clubs and seven hotels in the Southport electorate which have poker machines. These clubs and hotels employ hundreds of people and provide excellent facilities for their members and patrons.Southport Sharks,for instance,has over 50,000 members.
Each city and town in the state would be similar.These people want to destroy the club and pub industry in this state.I was amazed to read in the Courier-Mail and Sunday Mail of the coalition's proposal to reduce poker machines by 20 per cent. Interestingly,both articles only quoted the Leader of the Opposition,Lawrence Springborg,and only once are the Liberals mentioned in both of those articles.They obviously support the proposal, as evidenced by the Leader of the Liberal Party's contribution to this debate tonight.
Those opposite try to pass themselves off as the defenders of small business. What about the businesspeople who purchased hotels? The coalition would destroy them with the stroke of a pen.The coalition undertook to release a discussion paper in February on their proposal to reduce poker machines by 4,000. They did not say which year. Obviously it is not 2006. It is interesting to note the third dot point in the proposed amendment which states-
" The Queensland coalition has kindly agreed to hold release of its policy on poker machines."
Agreed with whom? Agreed amongst themselves, obviously. This is obviously policy on the run by the coalition. That is typical.Those opposite have not discussed the implications of this crazy and irresponsible policy with the Licensed Clubs Association or the Queensland Hotels Association. They 08 Mar 2006 Coalition Gambling Policy 707 will be hearing about it from me. I can guarantee members of that. I will be sending letters about this to all of the clubs and pubs and members of those organisations in my electorate.
Those opposite would love to turn the clock back to the days when Queenslanders from as far away as Toowoomba, Maryborough and similar places had to travel by bus to Tweed Heads to play the poker machines. They did not trust Queenslanders with poker machines, and even in their own state. What a patronising, condescending attitude. At that time the coalition received tens of thousands of dollars in donations from the New South Wales club industry to keep the poker machines out of Queensland.
Let us look at the hypocrisy of the coalition. Mr Springborg described the proliferation of poker machines as Labor's own gambling addiction. I will give a bit of history. When the machines were introduced it favoured the clubs because they could have up to 250 machines and pubs could have only 10 and then later 20. Treasurer DeLacy in 1995 called for a review. In 1996 the coalition carried this proposal through and developed its white paper-the white paper that we are being promised now. The coalition's changes in 1996 shifted the pendulum clearly to the pubs. The coalition freed up the pubs, dropped the tax rate from 66.6 per cent to 45 per cent, allowed machine numbers in the pubs to rise from 20 to 40 per pub and uncapped the total machines state-wide. Hence the free-for-all. That was all the coalition's work.
Terry Mackenroth then responsibly introduced a cap. As the Deputy Premier said earlier, from 1996 to 2000 under the legislative regime of the coalition there was a 186 per cent increase in gambling machines in hotels. Contrast that to 2001 to 2005, when the number of machines rose by only 14.7 per cent.
The Beattie government's approach to gambling is about responsible gambling and ensures there is a responsible balance-a balance between the social effects and the economic effects.
One of the ways we ensure on balance that the community benefits from gambling in Queensland is through redistributing gambling taxes through community grant programs.In December the Gambling Community Benefit Fund distributed over $8.9 million to 568 community organisations across Queensland. In the electorate of Southport there have been 170 grants totalling $2.43 million since
2001.
During this period the Jupiters Casino Community Benefit Fund also distributed over $1 million to 46 community organisations in south-east Queensland.That was in the December quarter. I heard only today that the Schizophrenia Fellowship in Southport received $75,000. Grant programs are a vital source of revenue for our hardworking volunteers and help deliver important services to their communities.
This year we will be distributing an estimated $38.6 million in grants from the community benefit funds to groups across Queensland.
In addition, we will also allocate a further $1.2 million from the Golden Casket Foundation to support Queensland medical research. We are serious about responsible gambling and have implemented strategies to minimise potential harm associated with gambling.
Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 10:10 AM
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