Gaming a super resources tax

Is the Labor Party hypocritical in its application of its resources tax, in its original criticism of the GST as a tax on the poor and its continued support of Federal Hotels and the AHA’s rape of their constituent’s wealth when it comes to gaming?

How can one party contain so many contradictions and still try and stay on the moral high ground.

Why is it that their supporters behave as if they are supporting a football team and won’t question these contradictions? Why is it that the ALP, contrary to all of its founding principles is making apologies for not reducing the $5.00 bet limit on gaming machines to $1.00?

Mike Airds and Nick Sherry’s spurious defence of the current bet limits … ’that the rest of Australia has to do it at the same time’ … has so many moral holes that one should be questioning their stupidity in thinking that this argument has weight.

The Kim Booth motion before our state parliament to reduce the bet limits is exactly the same motion put forward to our last parliament by the Liberal Party.

The opposition to the motion is exactly the same, Federal Hotels and the Labor party in bed together one more time, defending the super profits made by Federal Hotels from the poorest suburbs in Tasmania.

Yet not one squeak of dissension from any member of the ALP.

This time the numbers are different, unless of course the AHA via McQuestin and Federal Hotels apply the blowtorch to young Will and he succumbs. This time it’s the people of Tasmania who can benefit, not just one family.

This time the ALP is going to look completely venal.

Federal Hotels takes over $150 million per annum from these poor suburbs and yet fails to honour its obligation to open a 5 star hotel by 2005 and it’s still not open. They are pretending to open the Saffire shortly and I imagine by Christmas it will be closed. It’s not hard to do the figures and it’s not hard to wonder at a minimum room rate per night of $1250 that in the middle of another financial crisis, that a mid-winter opening in Tasmania is not that attractive.

Yet the State has the opportunity to ease the pressure on the poor; it has the opportunity to re-write the deed in favour of the people of Tasmania and it has the opportunity to do the right thing. The pressure on the poor by reducing the bet limit would save criminal activity, allow the disposable income to once again reach the small businesses in Glenorchy and Launceston and would create employment.

Re-writing the gaming deed because Federal Hotels failed in simple contract terms the performance of the original agreement by not building and opening the Saffire Freycinet Hotel on time is now a legitimate reason for the State to take over the administration of the gaming license and thus take that super profit revenue for its own use.

Federal Hotels failed to satisfy its contractual obligations and this would be a legitimate reason for Parliament to exercise its Sovereign right to change the deed as and when it saw fit.

Why is it that Federal Hotels can get away with a super profit and the ALP says nothing?