The political stoush over how to respond to gambling harm in the ACT has left the territory in a state of inaction, anti-gambling harm advocates say.
The advocates have slammed the government's inaction over poker machine reform and the clubs sector has called for a halt to allow an inquiry to consider changes as Labor and the Greens continue talks to resolve their split over harm-reduction policies.
The ACT Greens are set to introduce contentious amendments in this Assembly's final sitting fortnight in an attempt to force Labor to choose between a central monitoring system for poker machines or cutting ties to the Labor Club.
The Canberra Gambling and Reform Alliance co-chair Jeremy Halcrow said the political paralysis this parliamentary term between the parties meant meaningful reform had not been pursued.
"Clearly there's a difference in opinion between Greens and Labor. They need to get their act together and actually deliver on the agreements they promised at the beginning of the parliamentary term," he said.
But Clubs ACT chief executive Craig Shannon said the industry wanted no further changes should be made to poker machine laws until an inquiry considers the ACT club industry, the relationship with NSW and the economic impact of clubs and gambling revenue on the territory.
"All three parties have given in principle commitment to this inquiry and we believe there should be no further legislative amendments that impact on the club industry in the absence of that inquiry proceeding to properly investigate these issues," Mr Shannon said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr on Monday said Labor and the Greens were working towards a statement that reflects the broad agreement between the two parties on reducing poker machine gambling harm.
"Where there is some disagreement at this point is over the cost, scope and effectiveness of a proposed central monitoring system," Mr Barr said.
"And if it is expensive and so easy to circumvent by simply going to a club on the NSW side of the border, it does leave you asking the question, why would hundreds of millions of dollars be invested in this scheme if it's so easy to get around?
"Surely that would be better invested in other harm reduction measures, or in diversification of club revenues or, even better, further reducing the number of poker machines in the territory."
Labor has said the amendments were "legally questionable and provocative" and had been designed to score political points.
The move reignited simmering tensions in the Labor-Greens coalition government, which has been split over the cost and utility of a central monitoring system.
The system would link all poker machines in the ACT, which the Greens say would would make it easier to track problem gambling and prevent gamblers from switching between venues.
Mr Shannon said reducing poker machine numbers and prohibition was no solution to gambling harm.
"It encourages gravitation to other less transparent and more harmful gambling habits and also encourages patrons to cross the border to NSW in the manner identified by the Chief Minister," he said.
Meanwhile, the Canberra Gambling and Reform Alliance has launched a campaign ahead of the election on six key gambling harm reduction policies they want the ACT government to work on.
These include a stronger public health approach to gambling harm, to reduce the number of electronic gaming machine licenses from 3500 to 2000 in the next term of government and to require annual reporting of financial losses by each gambling venue.
The alliance said the current government had achieved very little, saying most of the promises implemented in the space over the past four years were the ones where funding had gone to clubs.
The Labor and Greens power-sharing agreement included promises to introduce $5 bet limits and $100 load limits, a self-exclusion regime which family members could also enact and to reduce the number of poker machines in the ACT to 3500 by next year.
"It's been disappointing that the only measures that were in the [power-sharing agreement] that have been implemented are those that has actually seen funding go to the clubs. There's certainly been no actions as of yet on any improved regulation or safeguarding measures," Mr Halcrow said.
Mr Halcrow said the ACT should not measure itself on NSW.
"We're far from ideal in our regulatory practices here in the ACT. The narrative has been that we can't go ahead of what's happening in NSW but that's tying us to one of the worst performing jurisdictions in the world," he said.
The alliance wants a central monitoring system implemented saying this went hand-in-hand with a reduction in licenses. Co-chair Kate Seselja said a system was especially needed in Canberra given how small it was.
"It is an important factor in reducing accessibility of poker machines in our area and brings us in line with other states that have a lower number of population versus number of machines but with Canberra being such a uniquely small jurisdiction we need more robust protections in place because the distance between venues is so minimal," she said.
"CMS has proven to be an important tool to manage the data in and out of electronic gambling machines and that increases transparency around its usage and helps the community understand where the most harms are occurring."
