Notice given 9 August 2001

989  Senator Tierney: To move—That the Senate—

(a) notes the futile approach to gambling reforms announced recently by the New South Wales Government, in a state where the number of poker machines has increased by more than 60 per cent since 1995 when the Carr Labor government was elected;

(b) further notes that one of the key planks of these reforms is a cap on poker machine numbers at 104 000;

(c) condemns this ridiculously high cap on poker machine numbers at around existing levels in the State, which will not reduce gambling opportunities or the levels of revenue generated from gambling taxes;

(d) criticises these reforms, which can only be described as a public relations exercise, particularly when figures from the New South Wales Treasury have already predicted that the revenue generated from clubs and hotels will increase from $748 million in the 2001-02 financial year to $907 million in the 2004-05 financial year; and

(e) calls on the New South Wales Labor Party to get serious about reforms aimed at reducing the number of problem gamblers, by reducing the number of poker machines and the accessibility of various forms of gambling.