2018-12-11 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   11 DECEMBER 2018




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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                           11 DECEMBER 2018

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                                    can also be a source of great distress for a significant minority with
                                    wide-ranging impacts on local communities.
                                    Research suggests problem users are significantly more likely to:
                                    experience depression as a result of gambling; experience disruptions
                                    to family and social lives; have debts due to gambling; and experience
                                    disruptions to work and study. There is some evidence that gambling,
                                    especially on poker and gaming machines has led to social problems
                                    in society, such as personal financial pressures, emotional distress,
                                    domestic violence, employment difficulties, suicide and crime
                                    (Productivity Commission, 1999).    Currently the only input Local
                                    Governments and communities in Queensland have into gaming
                                    machine control is by providing comment on applications to OLGR.
                                    However, this is only for applications of 20 or more gaming machines.
                                    Applications for less than 20 machines are not publicly notified for
                                    comment and no social impact study is required of the applicant.
                                    Comments provided to OLGR also appear to have little influence on
                                    the outcome of the application.
                                     In Victoria, planning legislation was changed to define electronic
                                    gaming machines as a land use and therefore enable local planning
                                    schemes to regulate the land use and thus also the socio economic
                                    impacts of gaming. In Victoria, electronic gaming machines have
                                    been considered a land use for nearly 10 years. Planning schemes in
                                    that State can have local policies and codes that quite rightly deal with
                                    the social and land use impacts of gaming machines within the local
                                    context of each community. Most local governments in Victoria now
                                    require a full social impact assessment on any new gaming facilities.
                                    Electronic gaming machines is not currently defined by the Planning
                                    Regulation 2077, but it is clearly a land use and one that can have
                                    significant impacts on local communities.    For this reason local
                                    governments and their communities should be afforded greater
                                    opportunities to influence and provide input into the location and
                                    extent of electronic gaming machines at a local level.
                What      is’  the | Amend the Planning Regulation 2077 to include a land use definition
                 desired outcome | of    electronic gaming    machines   which   would    permit  local
                 sought?            governments through planning schemes to address the real social
                                    and land use impacts on local communities of electronic gaming
                                    machines and so minimise the potential harm associated with
                                    gambling.
                 LGAQ comment | The request to include ‘electronic gaming machines’ as a land use in
                                    the planning framework, has not previously been raised at a LGAQ
                                    Annual Conference and there is no specific LGAQ policy position in
                                    relation to this matter.

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