White, Labor must do right on the pokies

ALP state conference this weekend is an opportunity to lead, says Andrew Wilkie

IF something is the right thing to do, it remains the right thing to do until it’s done.

At the last state election Labor leader Rebecca White did something modern political party leaders almost never do. She led.

First, she led her party to a position on poker machines no one previously believed was possible. Suddenly it was Labor policy to remove poker machines from pubs and clubs and quarantine them back into the casinos. Then she led a statewide debate about the harm caused by this addictive and often deadly product. And finally, she led the government to publicly demonstrate just how beholden it is to the poker machine barons who run the machines in this state.

In the end, the Government promised to give hundreds of millions of dollars in free poker machine licences to its rich gambling mates.

This was a remarkable move by White, and one that paid off with Labor picking up three seats at the election and coming close to victory. That was a remarkably tight result at an election where the Liberal Party was always the strong favourite to win

But now, sadly, there’s a small, vocal group of Labor hacks agitating to walk away from White’s evidence-based poker machine policy. They’re too timid to try again to rid the suburbs of poker machines and happy to sell out the community by giving in to the barons. They don’t care that 40 per cent of the money lost on the machines is harvested from gambling addicts, and are scared to upset the barons with their deep pockets. So we have to take a stand. The Tasmanian Labor Party will hold its state conference this weekend and that’s when the pressure will be on to dump its policy of removing poker machines from pubs and clubs. Clearly the policy has electoral support. But the industry is warning the party to dump the reform so now is the time to contact Labor representatives and tell them to stay strong and do the right thing.

Poker machines are the second leading cause of crime in the community after the illegal drug trade. Think about that for a moment. Having a drug dealer on your street corner is only marginally worse than having a poker machine venue in your neighbourhood. This isn’t opinion. It is backed up by a University of South Australia study commissioned by the Victorian Government.

Poker machines remain a leading cause of child poverty and, according to the Australian National University, lead to more domestic violence. According to a report released by the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, the machines are a significant factor in many suicides.

The industry will continue to have blood on its hands so long as it promotes and profits from these dreadful machines. Labor must stay true because its policy, if implemented, will save lives and protect thousands of families.

The Liberal Party didn’t win the election because Tasmanians approve of poker machines. It won despite its policy. The state economy is ticking over well enough for most voters to decide not to want to change government.

Most Tasmanians hate the things. Polling shows four in five Tasmanians want poker machines reduced in number or removed from pubs and clubs. It was mistake 20 years ago to allow them into pubs and clubs because evidence shows that increasing accessibility to gambling increases the problems.

According to the State Government’s figures, jobs in pubs and clubs fell after the introduction of poker machines. And while the Government collects $50 million in taxes and fees from the machines, its 2011 Social and Economic Impact Study of Gambling in Tasmania puts the social and economic costs of problem gambling — including prison, bankruptcy, depression, violence and productivity loss — at up to $144 million every year.

The research and will of the people are clear. The machines are dangerous and have no place in the suburbs, and those in casinos need bet limits and harm minimisation features.

If it was easy to do the right thing, everyone would be doing it.

Andrew Wilkie is independent federal member for Denison.