VICTORIAN COMMISSION FOR GAMBLING AND LIQUOR REGULATION BILL 2011

I rise to make a contribution to the debate on the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation Bill 2011. Every now and again a government is able to stand up and say that it is proud to deliver a good idea that not only simplifies things but also streamlines matters and returns efficiency to a system, and that is what this bill does. The coalition is delivering on another election commitment -- a combined regulator for gambling and liquor. We are streamlining the system and making it more efficient and more transparent.

The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) will be a modern, world-class regulator using a commission-style decision-making approach for gaming and liquor matters. We are moving to restore community confidence in the regulation of gambling and liquor, which, after 11 years of Labor, is badly in need of reform. This is a practical, common-sense measure that will deliver better decisions and fairer outcomes for the community.

It is something that the community has called for, and it is something that the industry has called for, particularly in terms of transparency. This bill will ensure that we get both.

I was interested to hear the contribution from the member from Richmond, in which he talked about particular matters to do with licensing and questioned the role of Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in looking at addressing some of these matters. I would like to point out one of the efficiencies of this bill. I am only going to make a brief contribution today, because a number of members on my side have spoken and I do not wish to reiterate what has already been said.

I would like to talk in particular about what this bill does in terms of streamlining the work of VCAT. We hear every day in our electorate offices about how VCAT is clogged up with matters and how long people have to wait for their matters to reach VCAT. VCAT is a generalist body, and while it does a good job it does not have the expertise that the VCGLR will have.

What we are doing is putting together an expert group that will be able to look at issues on their merit and decide upon them in an efficient matter and with a level of expertise without clogging up VCAT. That is one of the key elements this bill seeks to address -- that is, taking gaming and liquor licensing matters to a specialist body so that they can be addressed and decisions made. Industry will then be very clear about how it is to proceed, and the community will also be very clear about the process. The bill will ensure that we have transparency when it comes to these matters.

VCAT will then be able to get on with doing what it does, and this will ensure that we get a more timely response in the other very important matters that VCAT seeks to address.

One of the other things I want to mention in my contribution is the important opportunity provided by this bill to combine the role of an inspector to look at licensing and gambling matters at once. Apart from the efficiency element in this, what we will be able to do is to ensure that we have an industry that works a lot better by taking advantage of the expertise that one person will have in going and looking at both matters. Quite often a gambling inspector, while they are checking out gambling facilities, will attend venues that are serving alcohol and will see minors being served alcohol. They are able to do nothing to fix the matter other than making a phone call to another authority or the police.

Likewise a liquor inspector could observe activity in terms of gambling or gaming that is not responsible, and they are able to do nothing about it. This will streamline the system and ensure that we have efficiency, transparency and a much better system that we have long been in need of. I commend the bill to the house.