Labor has ignored a fully costed plan to introduce universal player cards for poker machines in the ACT and the party's policy lacks the most effective harm-reduction tools, the Greens Gaming Minister says.
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Shane Rattenbury, who is the Greens leader, welcomed the Labor commitment to reduce the number of poker machines but warned more needed to be done to reducing gambling harm.
"The fact of the matter is that regardless of whether we have 10 or 1000 machines, they still have the potential to cause harm," Mr Rattenbury said.
"That is why we need a system with mandatory precommitments and loss limits for players, implemented through a universal player card across all machines (linked by a central monitoring system).
"Disappointingly, Labor's policy lacks these evidence-based controls that are considered to be the most effective in reducing harm."
Canberra Gambling Harm Alliance co-chair Kate Seselja said a reduction in poker machines was positive, but Labor's policy "missed the mark on all fronts as far as actually delivering on anything meaningful".
"Saying you're going to reduce poker machines not even to zero in the next 20 years is again a pointless thing to say because just reducing the number of machines without reducing their intensity and their ability to cause harm is not worthwhile," Ms Seselja said.
The Canberra Liberals said Labor's policy was the worst-case scenario for community clubs that showed Labor and the Greens were intent on "trashing the best community-based gaming model in the country".
Mr Rattenbury said Labor's cashless framework appeared to ignore strong evidence in favour for a universal system across all venues that prevented people from venue hopping.
Labor gaming spokeswoman Marisa Paterson on Wednesday said her party's policy would not prevent gamblers from hopping between venues. The system would require gamblers to be registered and have limits set at each venue.
"The tens of millions of dollars that a central monitoring system costs, that does not avoid the fact that people could still go to Queanbeyan to gamble. That is absolutely an issue for our jurisdiction, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't do these things here," Dr Paterson said.
Ms Seselja, who founded The Hope Project, said it was just nonsense to have separate cashless gambling player cards for different clubs.
"There isn't an expert in this field that would agree with [Dr Paterson]," she said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the central monitoring system proposal was still before the government but it was not part of the Labor policy.
"We've been clear that there are costs associated with it and there would in fact be some alternative ways to achieve the same sorts of outcomes. ... The things that will actually reduce harm are the proposals that Dr Paterson has outlined and are in our policy," Mr Barr said.
Labor on Wednesday promised to cut the number of poker machines in the ACT to 1000 by 2045, with 500 licences to be compulsorily acquired every four years, along with a bolstered self-exclusion scheme and cashless gaming by 2026-27.
Mr Rattenbury said he hoped Labor could use its new found zeal for reform to "actually knuckle down in the coming weeks and help land the proposal that is before the government right now".
"Labor's proposal also conveniently ignores the fact that a minister in their own government has been trying to deliver an expert informed and endorsed version of this all term," he said.
"As Gaming Minister, in September 2023 I took to cabinet a fully costed proposal for a universal player card developed by the Justice and Community Safety Directorate.
"The recent market sounding has revealed this could be delivered in two years at less than half of the initial estimated cost. Labor has this information and has so far declined to support this proposal."
Mr Rattenbury and Dr Paterson, a former director of the Australian National University's centre for gambling research, have previously clashed over the issue of a central monitoring system, which would be expected to cost $70 million.
Mark Parton, the Canberra Liberals' gaming spokesman, said clubs would disappear if Labor and the Greens remained in government after the election, meaning community groups and sports clubs would be stripped of funding.
"At least the clubs know that there is a death sentence, and they don't have to sit in the holding cells waiting for the next election cycle to discover their fate," Mr Parton said.
"The Canberra Liberals will release [a] club and gaming machine policy in coming weeks with a focus on sensible and practical harm reduction."
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
