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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-07-29 Daily Xml
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GAMING MACHINES (MISCELLANEOUS) AMENDMENT BILL

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:10): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing a question to the Minister for Gambling regarding amendments to the Gaming Machines Act.

Leave granted.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The social effect of gaming venues is often analysed with a tool called the social effect test. The intention of the Gaming Machines (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2010 was to create better and more responsible gambling environments, and to reduce the risk and the costs associated with the gaming machine regulatory framework. Will the minister outline to members of the chamber how the revised social effect tests is expected to operate?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Gambling) (15:10): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. I am advised that a new approved trading system for gaming machine entitlements has been introduced under the Gaming Machines (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2010. The Independent Gambling Authority is responsible for the social effect inquiry process and principles which, in combination, provide the social effect test.

A proponent who seeks a gaming machine licence has to conduct a social effect inquiry. Under the amendments, changes will be made to the current social effect test which will improve and strengthen the test. I am advised that the existing social effect test has three major components to it: the statistical local area describes local community stakeholders who are identified as having an interest in the applicant and the premises, listing the responsible local council and the main organisations which provide social and educational services to the people who reside in the local community.

This document will also identify relevant infrastructure such as roads, railways, major buildings and open spaces. It will include a risk analysis of how premises will be managed, including arrangements for identification of possible problem gamblers; arrangements to inform and enforce customers and their families; and to facilitate access to informal, voluntary self-exclusion and formal barring. There will then be a period for community stakeholders and the applicant to respond to community concerns.

The amendment brings the social effect certificate assessment process forward so that it can occur before costs associated with the development and liquor licensing applications have been incurred. The government has anticipated an increase in applications for new gaming machine sites as a consequence of the removal of the $50,000 fixed price on gaming machine entitlements.

I am advised that experience in other jurisdictions has revealed that unless the social effect of gambling is taken into account early in the regulatory process for a site, the question will tend to overshadow other licensing and developmental processes which are not designed, obviously, to deal with that.

The social effect inquiry process mandates a structural approach to community engagement to ensure that relevant stakeholders are given the information necessary to understand the proposal and to ensure that the applicant engages in a dialogue prior to commencement of formal licensing proceedings.

A social certificate will have a validity period of 18 months that can be extended with the commissioner's approval if appropriate. It is designed so that the issues are well defined at the start of proceedings, and the applicant is able to adapt the proposal to meet community concerns. The authority consulted comprehensively, actively seeking out stakeholders and holding a hearing prior to formulating the regulatory notice which is now gazetted and in force.

It is necessary and appropriate for the commissioner to not only consider the gaming venues currently in operation but also those venues that have a legal right to operate in the foreseeable future. By identifying the presence of gaming on the site as the potential issue of most critical concern and dealing with that at the outset, the process reduces the development process risk to applicants and reduces red tape and costs for proponents.

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