FEDERAL POLITICS
November 21, 2010
EXCLUSIVE
KEY independent Andrew Wilkie has warned he will withdraw his support for the Gillard government if it fails to honour a deal to introduce new technology forcing poker machine players to set binding limits on their losses.
Clubs and hotels are furious, claiming the mandatory pre-commitment system demanded by Mr Wilkie will trigger industry-wide job losses and huge revenue cuts for state governments.
But Mr Wilkie – who helped Labor secure a second term with an agreement to rein in the poker machine industry – said the reform was not negotiable.
“There should be no misunderstanding at this point that if the government was to renege on this aspect I would pull my support instantly,” Mr Wilkie said. “There shouldn’t be any uncertainty about what is going to be implemented, because my agreement with the Prime Minister is absolutely clear: it is a uniform, full system, a mandatory system.”
Under the agreement to win Mr Wilkie’s support signed in September, the government promised to introduce a “best practice full pre-commitment scheme” across all states and territories by 2014.
That means players will be asked to set a limit on how much money (and possibly time) they want to spend, with an option to choose not to set a limit at all if this is their preference. The limits will be enforced using identification technology, most likely involving the use of smart cards.
