From the President DAVID BASHEER – AHA | SA PRESIDENT
Perils of Lazy Law Making We appear to be suffering from knee jerk reactions in both liquor and gaming, as the law makers seek to further impose themselves on our Industry. The Tasmanian Government, with no consultation with industry, announced they will introduce draconian legislation that will require mandatory pre-commitment cards to play gaming machines in that State. Despite the failure of this approach, meaning no jurisdiction in the world outside of Scandinavia has pursued such legislation, the Tasmanian Government has ignored the opportunity to investigate better options that takes into account the technology available today. Facial recognition in gaming rooms has proven hugely successful in South Australia in dealing with already barred patrons. It is now being explored throughout the country.
That is just one aspect of the patron care package. Tasmania does not have Automated Risk Monitoring or a training regime even close to what we have here. But their Government has bypassed all of those options and fast forwarded to a lazy solution with questionable outcomes for the industry and the player. In NSW there is a move towards carded play to combat concerns around money laundering. Our modest load up limits here are a world away from Casinos or indeed NSW pubs and clubs, that have a $5000 load up limit. This is something we have ensured local decision makers are well aware of. MISGUIDED LIQUOR CLAMP A MAJOR CONCERN Closer to home, and as I have written about previously, we are seeing laws around liquor
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purchasing quickly tightening. This is a real concern for our industry. Regional members are understandably frustrated by a range of factors in relation to this issue. Liquor restrictions limiting the amount and type of alcohol that can be purchased, and the requirement for licensees to use a new identification scanning tool are now in place in: • Ceduna • Coober Pedy • Port Augusta • Whyalla These initiatives have been determined and introduced by the Licencing Commissioner as a tool to address alcohol related harm, violence and anti social behaviour in particular communities. Bottle shops cannot trade before 11am Back to Contents
