The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, today donated the pokies counter used as the centrepiece of his 2010 federal election campaign to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
The counter wash anded to representatives of TMAG so they can preserve this piece of Tasmanian election memorabilia. It shows the amount of money lost by Tasmanians on poker machines since the 2010 state election – a number that grows rapidly every day. Mr Wilkie’s fight to reduce the impact that poker machines have on vulnerable Australians has been a central theme in his political activism since the 2010 state election.
“I think people identified me as the candidate who was vocal on the need for pokies reform and the counter certainly highlighted the importance of that reform,” Mr Wilkie said.
“The amount of money lost on poker machines was and is staggering. I hoped that displaying it so prominently on a moving vehicle would help people realise that something needed to be done.”
The counter spent the election campaign mounted to the top of Mr Wilkie’s signature van. Accompanying the counter is a sign that reads “Money lost on the pokies since the 2010 State election”. The counter has an inbuilt computer that continues to calculate the money lost to this day, even when the counter is unplugged.
Andrew Wilkie MP, Independent Member for Denison
