CASINO LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2022

I concur with the Minister entirely. I will not take up too much of the time of the House; it is Thursday afternoon and we all want to go home. I reiterate what the Minister said: These are substantial reforms. It was critical for us to address the many issues that were highlighted in the media and in the various reports and inquiries. The Minister has worked closely with the regulator and others so that New South Wales is on the front foot to ensure that we have a casino industry that we can respect and that is transparent and run in a way that the community expects.

I thank the Hon. Mick Veitch for leading for Labor in debate on the bill in the upper House and working closely with those members. Like the Minister, I also thank Ms Cate Faehrmann. The Minister is right in that some of the amendments moved by The Greens in the upper House increased transparency. That is critically important. We want to ensure that the community has confidence in the operation and regulation of casinos in New South Wales. The amendments certainly enhanced that. I also thank Mr Justin Field. He moved some excellent amendments, which we were able to discuss together and introduce. That process strengthened the legislation before the House. I also thank Mr Phil Crawford and his team from the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority [ILGA]. They have been instrumental in ensuring that we can all feel assured that casinos in New South Wales will be working within a tight regulatory framework through this legislation. I thank Mr Crawford for his ongoing work and for reaching out to the Labor Opposition and briefing us at every turn.

I also thank the Minister's staff—Gavin Melvin, Catriona and others. They have been cooperative, inclusive and very transparent. The standout for me is that the Minister came to this place with the intention of bringing integrity to the gambling industry. We are on the same page about that. I thank the Minister for that. Previously other members in this place have been critical about casinos being allowed to operate. I make the point that the Minister and I have been able to work in a cooperative and open manner to enable an industry that employs thousands of people to be operated under a regulatory framework with confidence that those jobs will not be lost, whilst also ensuring that there will be no harm to members of the community. I thank the Minister again as well as members of both Houses. We have worked cooperatively to pass very good legislation. I am proud to be part of that. I commend the bill to the House.