Childcare services could be offered at licensed clubs in return for tax breaks on gambling profits, the poker machine lobby has suggested to the productivity commission.
Anthony Ball, executive director of Clubs Australia, wrote in its submission to the childcare inquiry that the shortfall in childcare services could be made up by clubs around Australia, Fairfax reported on Sunday.
The productivity commission is examining future options for childcare and early childhood learning, and the prospect of developing a system to address the “learning and development needs” of children and which also supports workforce participation.
On behalf of his organisation, which represents 4,000 clubs, Bell urged the commission to consider an attached report by the McKell Institute, commissioned by Clubs Australia, as a “credible solution to the chronic shortage of affordable social services and infrastructure across Australia”.
“Key recommendations include the establishment of an infrastructure fund and an extension of income tax exemptions to cover clubs whose primary purpose involves the provision of social services including childcare,” Bell wrote.
“It is within this space that not-for-profit clubs are well positioned to deliver affordable access to childcare; the Industry’s extensive community networks, sizeable facilities, geographic footprint and capital expenditure programs ensures that clubs can help fill service gaps where the demand is most acute.”
On Sunday Victorian premier Denis Napthine shut down any suggestion that licensed clubs could provide childcare in exchange for tax breaks.
He said the Victorian coalition government would be “very dubious” about licensed clubs offering childcare services.
“I think that’s fraught with a lot of danger,” Napthine said.
Independent South Australian senator Nick Xenophon told Guardian Australia he was “wary” of the proposal and said the question needed to be asked if the childcare centres would be located on club premises.
“If they do have them there, there would have to be a whole range of safeguards,” said Xenophon.
“I think instinctively there must be a much better way.”
“I’m deeply sceptical that clubs which have childcare centres won’t use the childcare centres as a marketing ploy for parents to have a gamble at the pokies venues, in which case, seemingly affordable childcare could end up costing parents the earth.”
Independent Tasmanian senator Andrew Wilkie said the idea was appalling.
“The poker machine industry’s interest in now running childcare centres surely must be some kind of sick joke,” the independent Tasmanian MP said.
The report suggested clubs could offer low-cost childcare services due to existing infrastructure which already allowed some clubs to provide low-cost aged care.
“As community organisations with strong connections to their local communities, many clubs have the potential to engage with the provision of childcare services,” read the report.
Among its recommendations, the report suggested clubs should receive further tax exemption for primarily providing child or aged care.
“If aged care and childcare were specified as a legitimate community service purpose, up to one-third of the 4,000 clubs in Australia which currently pay income tax could gain access to a new income tax exemption in exchange for diversifying into the provision of new aged care or child care facilities,” it said.
It also called for a “streamlining” of the process for clubs seeking to amalgamate, primarily by loosening the restrictions in the local impact assessment (LIA) required when transferring entitlements to install poker machines.
“An unnecessarily lengthy and uncertain LIA process can act as a disincentive to further club amalgamations, potentially weakening the capacity of the clubs industry to invest in social services,” it said.
Tim Costello from the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce said the suggestion was “inappropriate”.
“This would be socially devastating, to allow problem gamblers who are mums to drop off their kids and gamble,” he told Fairfax.