Economy
Greens flag legislation on casino pokies levy. Clubs threaten Wilkie. Eddie lashes ‘footy tax’
The Tasmanian Greens are planning to introduce legislation next month that would see casinos pay a proportion of their poker machine revenue into the Community Support Levy, in line the 4% rate already paid by pubs and clubs.
Greens Leader Nick McKim MP, who made the announcement at the Greens State Conference today, said it is reasonable to expect that companies which have benefited from pokies should help alleviate some of the damage caused by problem gambling.
“Poker machines take the food off family dinner tables and suck the warmth out of homes in winter,” Mr McKim said.
“The Greens believe that it’s time for Federal Hotels, who run all the casinos in Tasmania, to do more to address some of the pain that their poker machines in particular cause in our community.”
“My understanding is that Labor won’t be supporting this legislation when it goes before the House of Assembly, but there is an opportunity here for the Liberal Party to work constructively with the Greens to bring about a positive outcome.”
“If the levy was applied to casinos at the 4% rate paid by pubs and clubs it would result in an extra $3.5 million dollars going into state coffers to be spent on gambling mitigation.”
“The Greens maintain our support for Australia wide pre-commitment legislation and a one-dollar bet limit, as interim and remedial measures leading to an eventual ban on poker machines.”
“Until then it’s unacceptable that Federal Hotels casinos should be exempt from paying into the Community Support Levy.”
Mr McKim also thanked Greens members attending this weekend’s State Conference.
“These are the people that work so hard to put us into the Parliament, so it’s great to get everyone together sharing ideas and debating policy.”
“Holding the balance has thrown up all kinds of unexpected challenge for the Party, but it is an honour to be in this position and to know that all five Tasmanian Greens MPs have the Party’s full backing.”
“We have tallied up some 86 Greens policies that have been implemented in part or in full since the last State Election, and that’s a record I’m proud of. Of course there’s still a lot more for us to do.”
• Wilkie faces pokies legal threat
HANNAH MARTIN | September 25, 2011 12.01am
ANTI-POKIES campaigner Andrew Wilkie says one of Australia’s most powerful gambling groups is threatening to sue him.
The independent Tasmanian MP, whose support of the Federal Government depends on its backing his tough poker machine reforms, says he fears Clubs Australia will try to sue him for “hundreds and thousands of dollars” after he labelled the group bullies.
“It could conceivably destroy me financially,” the Denison MHR told the Sunday Tasmanian after revealing he had received a letter from the group demanding he retract his comments.
“The poker machine industry and myself have obviously been at each other’s throats since the election, when I reached an agreement with the Prime Minister over poker machine reforms,” he said.
“But this is a personal attack against me and it came quite out of the blue.
“A very large, very rich industry is now seeking to change government policy by attacking a member of government.”
Mr Wilkie’s reforms also have angered AFL clubs, the NRL and members of the Government’s back bench.
AFL presidents meeting in Melbourne tomorrow will use grand final week to go public with their concerns that the reforms will slash the profits clubs rely on.
It is understood the meeting was meant to discuss the carve-up of football licensing agreements for the next five years, but sources said crisis talks about Mr Wilkie’s package were now also on the agenda.
It follows a campaign by the NRL to scuttle the laws, including advertisements planned for the grand final broadcast this weekend.
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou visited Canberra a fortnight ago and has spent weeks lobbying MPs behind the scenes, holding talks with Families Minister Jenny Macklin, Sports Minister Mark Arbib and Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten.
The AFL is seeking direct talks with Mr Wilkie who has warned if the reforms don’t go through he will bring down the Government.
One AFL president, who asked not be named, said: “This is not about politics, this is about survival.”
Up to 25 Labor MPs are threatening to vote against the plan in ALP caucus, warning it will kill clubs and pubs.
Leading the AFL charge is Collingwood president and Channel 9 identity Eddie McGuire.
McGuire said clubs were “on the hook” for millions of dollars in investment in Victoria after paying for new pokie licences.
“To suddenly out of nowhere, without any consultation, to have what looks like being a footy tax imposed is going to hit football clubs right between the eyes,” he said.
Senior Gillard Government sources are laying much of the blame at the feet of former Liberal premier Jeff Kennett. They claim he is leading the charge as part of a last hurrah before his term as Hawthorn president finishes.
Mr Kennett yesterday predicted the Wilkie amendments would fail.
“But he won’t bring down the Government. He hasn’t got the gumption,” Mr Kennett said.
Lawyers for Clubs Australia sent a letter to Mr Wilkie on September 13, giving him seven days to issue a media release retracting his “bullies” statements, which he made about the organisation’s dealings with the Salvation Army.
Mr Wilkie said he had not responded to their demands and the timeframe expired last Tuesday.
He has recruited anti-gambling senator and lawyer Nick Xenophon to reply to the letter.
“Nick Xenophon is acting for me and he has assembled a legal team including an expert in defamation law,” he said.
“If they go ahead and try and sue me, presumably they would put a dollar value on what they claim their loss is.
“They claim they’ve been seriously defamed, which could [cost me] many tens of thousands of dollars.”
Mr Wilkie said he had been advised they could also sue for legal costs that “in a matter like this could be hundreds and thousands of dollars”.
He said he was “comfortable” but had a young family to support and was not in a position to pay out that kind of money.
“I’m very, very disappointed but I’m not surprised at all,” he said.
“That they would stoop this low and try and destroy me as part of their overall strategy is completely unsurprising.”
A Clubs Australia spokeswoman confirmed they had written to Mr Wilkie regarding the comments.
“A letter of concern has been sent, and we’re still waiting for his response,” she said.
The organisation declined to comment further.
First published: 2011-09-24 05:05 PM
• ABC Online, Monday: Wilkie hits out at ‘footy tax’ claims
AFL club presidents will meet today amid growing opposition to the Government’s plans to introduce tough new laws on poker machines.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie’s push to bring in mandatory pre-commitment technology on poker machines has been savaged by Collingwood president Eddie McGuire, who has labelled it a “footy tax” which will hit grassroots sporting organisations.
The AFL says the reforms will do nothing to stop problem gambling and will only hurt clubs which are already struggling to make ends meet.
The tax is already opposed by NRL clubs and both codes are reportedly set to run television advertisements against it during grand final week.
But the AFL’s media and communications department tweeted late Sunday: “For anyone in any doubt, the AFL is NOT starting a campaign this week around proposed pokie legislation. Any suggestion to that is incorrect.”
Mr Wilkie is behind the push for the pre-commitment technology, and is supporting Julia Gillard’s minority Government on the basis that it is introduced.
He says Mr McGuire’s claim is “patently ridiculous”.
“Eddie is a good man, he’s a leadership figure in the community, he should know better,” he said.
“He knows this is not going to be a tax on football, and he shouldn’t use such inflammatory terms.
“It is not in the public interest and it is not the sort of behaviour we need from a leadership figure in the community and from the AFL.”
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has backed Mr Wilkie, accusing football clubs of being misleading in their campaign against pre-commitment technology.
“The AFL clubs shouldn’t be part of this fear and loathing campaign,” he said.
“These reforms are sensible and practical. It will make a big difference to deal with the almost 100,000 Australians that have got a severe gambling problem because of poker machines.”
Legal threat
Meanwhile, Mr Wilkie says Clubs Australia and Clubs New South Wales have threatened to sue him for defamation.
Senator Xenophon says he is helping Mr Wilkie by providing him with free legal advice.
“I am providing pro bono legal advice for Andrew Wilkie in relation to a threat he’s had by clubs to sue him, by the poker machine industry to sue him,” he said.
“I’m very happy to provide Andrew Wilkie pro bono legal advice and we’ve sought the advice of senior counsel in relation to that, and the lawyers for the poker machine industry will be getting a letter from me in the next few days.”
Earlier on Sunday the executive director of Clubs Australia, Anthony Ball, hit out at Mr Wilkie’s push to introduce pre-commitment technology.
He said it would cripple football clubs financially.
“AFL clubs receive over $60 million a year from clubs and hotels and that is really important to them running their teams,” he said in a statement.
“That’s at the elite level, but it will also hurt at the junior and amateur level, teams that really rely on their pub or club to get jumpers on the backs of the kids.
“So this is going to hurt from top to bottom, and I think the AFL realise that.”
Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin says problem gambers can spend around $20,000 per year each, and says sporting organisations and clubs have a duty of care to do what they can to curb the addiction which ruins the lives of so many individuals and their families.