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Mar03 People Before Pokies K Booth 0.Pdf PEOPLE BEFORE POKIES A TASMANIAN GREENS POLICY INITIATIVE TASMANIA. Launched by Kim Booth MP CREATE OUR February 2014 OWN FUTURE Authorised by Nick McKim MP, Parliament House, Hobart ` > YOUR TEAM IN STATE PARLIAMENT > WANT MORE INFO? State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens Level 1, 162 Macquarie Street, Hobart, 7000 Postal Address: Parliament House, Hobart, 7000 Phone: (03) 6233 8300 Fax: (03) 6223 1406 E-mail: [email protected] Web: mps.tas.greens.org.au Tasmanian Greens Policy Initiative: People Before Pokies | Issued on 03 March 2014 | Authorised by Nick McKim MP, Parliament House, Hobart People before Pokies A Five Year Plan to Remove Pokies from Tasmania The Tasmanian Greens have a plan to make Tasmania pokie-free over five years. In the calendar year January 2013 to January 2014 Tasmanians lost • Despite the much lauded Federal Labor gambling mandatory pre- $206, 326, 356 on pokies. commitment promises, these promises were broken, leaving little changed at the federal arena, making state intervention all the This is an average of $17, 193, 863 over 12 months. more urgent. This is $402.25 lost per every Tasmanian. (as per Treasury’s latest • Community, welfare and church groups have been calling for Population data.) action on pokies for the last decade, only to be ignored by successive state governments as the problem intensifies. Community organisations, churches, small businesses, legal representatives are calling for action to stop the damage pokies are wreaking on our communities – the Greens will make Tasmania pokie- free over five years. > OUR PLAN Commence a five year withdrawal period, at the end of which pokies > THE ISSUE will no longer be permitted to operate in Tasmania • Tasmanians lose between $14 million – $17 million each month This includes all pokies in Tasmania’s hotels, clubs, casinos on pokies - more than $400 annually per man, woman and child. and TT-Line vessels Around 40 per cent of that money is lost by problem gamblers. Creation of a ‘Pokie Transition Adaptation Fund’ (receiving • Over the last five years Tasmanians have lost more than $200 money currently lining the pockets of the monopoly holder) million each year on pokies – that is over $1 billion. will see pokies fund their own removal, ensuring the proposal remains cost neutral. • Anglicare Tasmania estimates there are more than 2, 500 people with a gambling problem in Tasmania, but for every problem Amend the Gaming Control Act 1993 to end the monopoly gambler, another 5 – 10 people are affected. This means almost held by Federal Hotels (Federal Group) over Tasmanian 27, 500 Tasmanians are adversely affected by problem gambling. pokies. • The Tasmanian government’s monopoly arrangement with Provide Federal Hotels a fair and equitable exit package, Federal Hotels locks in a potential total of 3680 pokies. negotiated by the Auditor-General. • The monopoly arrangement, the Deed of Agreement, was Help venues identify and implement alternative forms of secretly extended for another 15 years in 2003, it will now not revenue raising entertainment and provide business planning expire until 2023. assistance. • Pokies are recognised as the most dangerous and addictive form Implement harm minimisation strategies throughout the of gambling currently available. transition period, including a $1 bet limit on all pokies. • The latest Treasury figures show Tasmania has 3 572 pokies Require casinos to contribute four per cent of gaming profits across the casinos and pub and club venues. to the Community Support Levy. • The Productivity Commission’s Report on gambling indicated that The Greens are committed to ending the current situation where people can lose $1, 200 per hour. The Commission also estimates substantial profit is made from the losses of those who can least that the average annual cost to the community for each problem afford to lose. gambler is between $10,500 and $33,600. • Anglicare’s ‘Nothing Left to Lose’ report highlights the increasing trend of people ending up before the courts and in gaol due to problem gambling This results in social and financial costs of relationship breakdowns, imprisonment, suicide, demands on counselling and support services. Tasmanian Greens Policy Initiative: People Before Pokies | Issued on 3 March 2014 | Authorised by Nick McKim MP, Parliament House, Hobart Page 1 of 3 ` “The government will not be liable in damages or in any other > DELIVERING OUR POLICY remedy to Federal Hotels or the other parties to the deed if the parliament amends or repeals the deed”. There are three main courses of action comprising our plan to have removed pokies from Tasmania in five years: > Casinos to Contribute to the CSL (1) legislative reform by which to drive the structural changes required to wean government from pokies revenue; The Greens attempt to require Tasmania’s casinos to contribute to the (2) the establishment of financial transition arrangements to assist Community Support Levy were blocked by both the other two parties companies and venues to exit from current pokie arrangements; in October 2011. and Under this commitment we will legislate to ensure casinos (3) of equal importance will be the harm minimisation arrangements contribute to the CSL while we transition out of pokies over which will be introduced immediately to operate in conjunction the five year period. with the five year transition to becoming a pokie free state, to help Tasmanians affected by pokies and problem gambling. The Greens estimate that should casinos contribute four per cent of their gross profits, as pub and club pokies venues are required to do under the Gaming Control Act 1993, an additional $3 million to $ 4 million each year could be > Legislative Reform injected into the Community Support Levy. Ending the monopoly The first step in implementing this commitment is to end the existing monopoly arrangement with Federal Hotels. > Financial Transition and Reform Schedule 1 of the Gaming Control Act 1993 contains a Deed of Agreement between Federal Hotels (amongst others) and the Crown in Exit Package for Federal Hotels (Federal Group Right of the State of Tasmania, providing an ‘Exclusive Right’ for Tasmania) operation of gaming machines, casinos and Keno within Tasmania. While no legal obligation exists to compensate Federal Hotels in the It is this Deed that provides Federal Hotels with its monopoly over event the State Parliament legislates to end their monopoly, the Tasmanian pokies, in hotel and club venues, as well as in the two Tasmanian Greens believe it is responsible to negotiate a fair exit casinos. package. The Tasmanian Greens will introduce legislation amending the Gaming To achieve this, the Auditor General will be engaged to assess Control Act 1993. This amendment will: the options available for negotiating a takeover of the pokie machines (which will be subsequently destroyed and recycled Vest the monopoly held by Federal Hotels in the Crown at the end of the transition period). Commence a five year withdrawal period, at the end of which This negotiated exit package will be funded from the Pokie pokies will no longer be permitted to operate in Tasmania Transition Adaptation Fund ultimately ensuring the implementation of this proposal remains cost neutral. > Parliament Can Amend the Act Pokie Transition Adaptation Fund Section 7 of the Gaming Control Act 1993 states that: Through the legislative reforms above, the current monopoly vested in “If there is an inconsistency between a provision of this Act and a Federal hotels, is vested in the Crown. That means the Crown will provision of the 2003 Deed, the provision of this Act prevails”. receive a larger spike of the pokies income until the end of the five year transition period, due to receiving Federal hotels’ pokies income. Amending the Act will therefore end the monopoly over pokie machines without impacting upon other arrangements with regard to The second part of the legislative reform is to establish a Pokie operating casinos and Keno. Transition Adaption Fund, where based on recent figures the Fund could receive between $160 million to $180 million over the five year In 2003 the Tasmanian Greens received advice from noted transition period, factoring in a set percentage decrease in the current constitutional law expert Mr Michael Stokes on the capacity of number of pokies around Tasmania. Parliament to change the monopoly arrangement. This fund, consisting of rediverted pokies revenue will pay for the In summary, Mr Stokes’ advice is that: phase out of poker machines over the five year transition period. “There is no limit to the power of the Tasmanian parliament (It is also important to note that this total could be much lower a s a to amend or repeal the deed to enact legislation which is result of the $1 bet limit also being implemented. inconsistent with it. Tasmanian Greens Policy Initiative: People Before Pokies | Issued on 3 March 2014 | Authorised by Nick McKim MP, Parliament House, Hobart Page 2 of 3 ` The purpose of the new ‘Pokie Transition Adaptation Fund’ is to: Restrict coin changing machines limits • Fund a pokie buyback scheme; and The Greens would introduce restriction on automatic coin machines in venues, ensuring that a maximum limit on exchanging dollar notes for • Assist venues in: coins is established. We will work with welfare agencies, the Tasmanian Gaming Commission and other stakeholders to establish an Identifying and adopting alternative forms of revenue raising appropriate limit and timeframe for this reform to be implemented. entertainment to replace pokies income Plain packaging on Pokies Obtaining expert business planning assistance to readjust to operating without pokies. The Greens will also trial ‘plain packaging’ on pokies. This will The ‘Pokie Transition Adaptation Fund’ will serve three broad purposes: strengthen the state’s harm minimisation toolkit, while along with the $1 Bet limit and the eventual roll back of pokies out of the community.
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