ADELAIDE CASINO

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:09): Can the Deputy Premier please inform the house about finalisation of agreements with the operators of the Adelaide Casino?

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (14:09): I thank the honourable member for his question. On 11 October, the government finalised a new casino duty agreement and approved licensing agreement with SkyCity in regard to the Adelaide Casino. The approved licensing agreement was the conclusion of many years of hard work by a number of people and a number of areas across government.

Its conclusion cleared the way for SkyCity to announce a $40 million investment in the Adelaide Casino. This investment is a major step in the process for SkyCity to announce a full $350 million expansion in the coming months. Such a significant private investment in the Riverbank redevelopment is expected to create more than 500 jobs during the three-year development, and 1,000 ongoing positions.

Specifically the approved licensing agreement establishes a considerable responsible gambling program within the Adelaide Casino's operation. It will see the Casino introduce pre-commitment and risk monitoring systems to its gaming machine operations early in 2014. These are initiatives which were not supported by the parliament earlier this year but which the government was able to secure nevertheless through negotiations with SkyCity.

They will come into effect more than three and a half years ahead of planned commonwealth reforms and lead to the strongest responsible gambling measures applied to any casino in Australia. The agreement also provides $300,000 per year to be provided by SkyCity for gambling rehabilitation funding.

Through the finalisation of the approved licensing agreement, the government will receive a $20 million payment, with gaming taxation generated by the Adelaide Casino project to more than double once the full expansion of the facility is completed in 2016. This is another key piece of the revitalised Riverbank that will provide South Australians with a world-class facility.