Marisa Paterson is at risk of becoming "the minister for closing clubs", the opposition says, after the government revealed its plan to legislate more cuts to poker machine numbers in the ACT.
Opposition Leader Mark Parton said he hoped Dr Paterson was not remembered as the minister who closed local clubs but he feared that might be the result of the plan to cut the number of poker machines to 1000 by 2045.
"Any problem gambler is just going to go straight to Queanbeyan anyway. You miss out on the money. You miss out on the jobs. You miss out on the community contributions," Mr Parton told ABC radio.
But Dr Paterson rejected the suggestion and also said on Tuesday the government had committed to establishing a joint clubs transition governance group to find practical solutions to back the sector.
"We will continue to have poker machines in the ACT. This is not a prohibition. There will be, over the next 20 years, anywhere between 3000 machines to 1000 machines. You will still be able to play a poker machine in the ACT," Dr Paterson said.
Clubs would also be able to propose rezoning their land if it achieves good outcomes and does not leave Canberra with fewer community facilities under a major plan amendment this term, she said.
The Alliance for Gaming Reform's chief advocate, Tim Costello, said other states should follow the ACT's nation-leading changes.
"It is great to see a government willing to stand up to vested interests and take meaningful action on gambling harm," Mr Costello said.
Mr Parton said he broadly supported reducing poker machine numbers, was not opposed to a plan to shut down poker machines for longer periods on weeknights but questioned the removal of ATMs and the ban on eftpos withdrawals in clubs.
Dr Paterson said a cashless account-based gaming system would still involve gamblers loading up their cards with cash, so removing eftpos withdrawals and ATMs from venues was still necessary.
The government's plan includes cashless gaming, legislated cuts to poker machine numbers in the ACT and a simplified and improved self-exclusion system.
ClubsACT chief executive Craig Shannon said the industry had a responsibility to help reduce gambling harm and called on the government to publish evidence and targets behind its proposals, assess the combined financial impact and fund a transition plan for the clubs sector.
"If a club closes, the community can lose support for local sport, a place to connect and somewhere to seek respite during extreme conditions. Clubs are not a magic pudding. Governments cannot keep taking another slice and assume those community benefits will always be there," Mr Shannon said.
The ACT Greens' spokeswoman on gambling, Rebecca Vassarotti, said the government's proposals would help but fell short of the changes needed and were an incomplete response to a significant public health challenge.
"We are still waiting too long to reach the machine numbers that are likely to make a substantial difference to the levels of gambling harm. Over recent years we've seen poker machine numbers reduced significantly and yet poker machine revenue has increased," Ms Vassarotti said.
Ms Vassarotti also criticised a change to the proposed poker machine close-down hours, which are set to stay the same at the weekend despite Chief Minister Andrew Barr telling the Assembly before the last election Labor had agreed with the Greens, who then sat in cabinet, to a longer shutdown period.
Dr Paterson said she strongly rejected the assertion Labor had been influenced by the industry or that the opening hours had been watered down.
"These shutdown periods will exceed the national average and be the longest shutdown periods on average across a week in any jurisdiction," she said.
The Canberra Gambling Reform Alliance and ACT Council of Social Service said the proposal was a step in the right direction but they were disappointed by parts of the package.
Independent MLA Thomas Emerson said he thought Dr Paterson's plan was a strong package and the Assembly needed to act on strong community support to reduce gambling harm.
"There's incredibly strong community support across the ACT for having fewer poker machines in our community but I also note the rate of 500 per term of government is painstakingly slow," Mr Emerson said.
