❓ Ms McGurk questions the Minister for Community Services about cuts to the Beyond Gambling program and potential expansion of gambling machines. The Minister assures funding for financial counsellors and denies expansion of gambling machines outside the metropolitan area.
AnsweredQoN 487Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
GAMBLING MACHINES — REGIONAL AREAS
487. Ms S.F. McGURK to the Minister for
Community Services:
Mr Speaker, my question is to the
Minister for Community Services.
Mr
A. Krsticevic interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Carine, I call you to order for the second time.
Ms
S.F. McGURK : I refer to the cutting from the state budget by the minister's
department of $500 000 a year for the Beyond Gambling grants program, which
deals with problem gamblers, and the revelation that the government of which
the minister is a part is now considering introducing gambling machines to TAB
outlets and country pubs.
(1) Has the
minister's department been approached for advice or submitted any
recommendations concerning an expansion of gaming and gambling machines in Western
Australia?
(2) Has the
minister done his job and advocated for the return of the funding for the
Beyond Gambling program?
487. Ms S.F. McGURK to the Minister for
Community Services:
Mr Speaker, my question is to the
Minister for Community Services.
Mr
A. Krsticevic interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Carine, I call you to order for the second time.
Ms
S.F. McGURK : I refer to the cutting from the state budget by the minister's
department of $500 000 a year for the Beyond Gambling grants program, which
deals with problem gamblers, and the revelation that the government of which
the minister is a part is now considering introducing gambling machines to TAB
outlets and country pubs.
(1) Has the
minister's department been approached for advice or submitted any
recommendations concerning an expansion of gaming and gambling machines in Western
Australia?
(2) Has the
minister done his job and advocated for the return of the funding for the
Beyond Gambling program?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for her question.
(1)–(2) With
regard to the problem gambling fund, it is used to fund the financial
counsellors my department set up last year. In the budget papers the member
will see that in the out years the actual gambling fund extinguishes; it runs
out. We took on a quantity of money from the problem gambling fund and put it
over the three years of the forward estimates. When we put together the funding
for the financial counsellors, we took some money from the Department for Child
Protection and Family Support and passed it over to me, as the Minister for
Community Services, and also from the problem gambling fund, to put together
that package. We have committed to three years' funding and we have —
Ms
S.F. McGurk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Fremantle, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr
A.J. SIMPSON : We have committed to funding three years of the financial
counselling process, which we have done. That is what is in the budget for the
three-year commitment. At the end of those three years, we will look at how we
can continue funding that. What is more important is that this government is
committed to supporting our community sector, hence why we took the financial
counselling back on and moved it over. To answer the member's question,
I think the Premier has already summed up quite clearly the issue of expanding
gambling machines, or whatever you like to call it, outside the wider
metropolitan area. It is not happening at all. The important part for me, as
Minister for Community Services, is to make sure we can support our community
sector and make sure we can support our financial counsellors and the great job
they do. The government is committed to supporting the community sector.
(1)–(2) With
regard to the problem gambling fund, it is used to fund the financial
counsellors my department set up last year. In the budget papers the member
will see that in the out years the actual gambling fund extinguishes; it runs
out. We took on a quantity of money from the problem gambling fund and put it
over the three years of the forward estimates. When we put together the funding
for the financial counsellors, we took some money from the Department for Child
Protection and Family Support and passed it over to me, as the Minister for
Community Services, and also from the problem gambling fund, to put together
that package. We have committed to three years' funding and we have —
Ms
S.F. McGurk interjected.
The
SPEAKER : Member for Fremantle, I call you to order for the second time.
Mr
A.J. SIMPSON : We have committed to funding three years of the financial
counselling process, which we have done. That is what is in the budget for the
three-year commitment. At the end of those three years, we will look at how we
can continue funding that. What is more important is that this government is
committed to supporting our community sector, hence why we took the financial
counselling back on and moved it over. To answer the member's question,
I think the Premier has already summed up quite clearly the issue of expanding
gambling machines, or whatever you like to call it, outside the wider
metropolitan area. It is not happening at all. The important part for me, as
Minister for Community Services, is to make sure we can support our community
sector and make sure we can support our financial counsellors and the great job
they do. The government is committed to supporting the community sector.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.