MARIBYRNONG City Council will call on the Federal Government to expand the scope of a gambling study at the Australia Local Governance Association’s National General Assembly in June.

The council will ask the Federal Government to expand the current terms of reference in the Productivity Commission Review of Gambling to include the examination of ‘capping’ and other strategies to minimise the impacts of problem gambling.

A council report said the regional capping of poker machines had not diminished gambling expenditure or reduced the impacts of problem gambling on municipalities.

Mayor Michael Clarke said that problem gambling was part of a suite of problems whose effects were felt not just in Maribyrnong, but across the whole country.

“Quite simply there is a segment of our community that is spending thousands upon thousands of dollars to the detriment of their family.

“It's one thing to go hungry for an adult but I take exception to a child in this country, in this state, in this municipality, going hungry.”

“We need to do something about this scourge. Quite simply it’s wrong. I’m not talking about gambling, I’m talking about problem gambling. Problem gambling has to be addressed.”

Each council in Australia is encourage to submit its own motions ahead of the assembly, which will focus on infrastructure, financing and climate change.

The council is also calling on the Federal Government to:

- Launch an investigation that would study the impacts of private childcare versus community-based child care;

- Adopt greenhouse reduction targets for the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme;

- Adopt a national ‘gross feed-in’ tariff to support the renewable energy industry;

- Ensure that all new housing is built carbon neutral by 2020;

- Raise the subsidy for Meals on Wheels to make it equal with other services; and

- Include local government on overseeing the proposed national health reforms.

The assembly will run from 21-24 June in Canberra.