Baird government opens door to potential pokie palacechildcare centres

Illustration: Matt Golding. The NSW government will consider giving licensed clubs tax breaks onpoker machine profits for expanding in to childcare & aged care services. A memorandum ofunderstanding signed by Premier Mike Baird & ClubsNSW infant day care centers in my area lastweek states the - NSW government had committed to considering the - use of the - ClubGrantsscheme to "assist in providing community care services". ClubsNSW has told a ProductivityCommission inquiry in to childcare in that clubs are well-placed to provide childcare services inreturn for tax concessions. Half of Australia's poker machines are in NSW. The proposal wasrejected by Victorian Premier Denis Napthine last month as "very dubious" & "fraught with a lot ofdanger". Advertisement Anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello, & federal politicians Andrew Wilkie& Nick Xenophon were moreover critical. A spokeswoman for Deputy Premier Troy Grant, who isthe - hospitality & gaming minister, wouldn't comment further on the - deal with the - clubs. "We willnot be pre-empting in that work," she said. But a report commissioned by ClubsNSW earlier thisyear recommended the - NSW government alter the - ClubGrants scheme so in that clubs who investin childcare or aged care in their buildings can offset this investment against their ClubGrantsliability. Clubs pay 0.4 per cent of poker machine profits over $1 million to the - ClubGrants fund.They moreover gain a tax rebate for poker machine profits spent on certain categories of communityprojects. "Allowing clubs to directly allocate their category 3 contributions towards the -construction of a new childcare or aged care facility within an existing building or on existing clubland would help," the - McKell Institute report said. The director of after-school care providerExtend, Darren Stevenson, asserted there had been a "very emotive" reaction to the - ClubsNSWproposal among childcare services. "This issue has touched a raw nerve," he said. ...

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