Transcript of media conference with Andrew Wilkie, Independent MHR for Clark, at Marieville Esplanade, Sandy Bay, 9 April 2021.
Andrew Wilkie
Well, I’m calling on the Tasmanian state government to consider holding a referendum at the same time as the state election at which questions could be put to the community about the future of pokie machines in the state. And if three weeks isn’t long enough for that to be organised, then I’m calling on all of the the parties and all of the candidates to commit to holding a referendum during the next parliament before any reforms go to the parliament. Now, there’s nothing exceptional about this idea. And in fact, in Tasmania, referendums have been held on a number of occasions. And most notably, in 1968, a referendum was held about whether or not there should be a casino in the state. As it turned out, in 1968, by a small majority, the community voted in favour of a casino. And in fact, in this electorate here, there was strong support for casino at that time. So it’s an unremarkable thing to consider. But the value is immense. Because we have this terrible situation at the moment where both the government, the Liberal Party, and the alternative government, the Labor Party, are both in the back pocket of the poker machine industry. So they simply can’t be trusted to make the decisions that need to be made. And it really should be left to the community for us to make a decision about our future, because politicians generally are so conflicted with their position about poker machines. So it can be done. Exactly what questions would be asked is something to be discussed and debated. But I would have thought obvious questions like, do you want poker machines in Tasmania? Do you do want poker machines in the pubs? Should the license holders for poker machines pay full market value for those licenses, which certainly isn’t going to be the case with the government’s proposed reforms? So it’s been done before, it can be done again. It’s not out of the question it could be organised in time for this state election. But if not, it would be easy for the parties to commit, and even independent candidates to commit, that there will be a referendum before the matter is decided upon in the next parliament.
Journalist
Is there a feeling in the community that they want something like this?
Andrew Wilkie
Well, when I talk to people, and I was on the radio this morning, floating this idea, and I’ve already had some feedback from people in the community. They think that’s a great idea. You know, why not? And I think people understand that many politicians are deeply conflicted, because, you know, they are in the back pocket of the industry, and the major parties are beneficiaries of big donations from the industry. So I think the community understands that this is a decision we should take out of the hands of politicians, out of the hands of the political parties, and for the community to make that decision themselves. Let’s not forget that polling shows that about 80% of Tasmanians either want no poker machines or less poker machines. So with that sort of strong support for reform, I am confident there would be strong support for a referendum to turn that raw polling data into something much more tangible that can be acted on by the parliament.
Journalist
Elise Archer says there isn’t enough time for a referendum during the election campaign, during the election day. So what do you want to see in place of that?
Andrew Wilkie
Well, if there is too little time to organise it before the polling day in a few weeks, then why don’t we do it after the election and before any legislation comes to the parliament? There’s no rush to bring legislation into the parliament. The current license doesn’t expire for a couple of years. So what I’m what I’m calling on is if we’re not going to do it at the election, then let’s definitely at least commit to having a referendum before the legislation hits the parliament. So that when the legislation is being crafted, it’s being debated and being voted on, that all members of the parliament will have a very clear understanding of what the community wants.
Journalist
Is this call a direct response to Labor’s back-flip on poker machine policy?
Andrew Wilkie
To some degree my calling for a referendum is in response to the ALP back-flipping on poker machine reform. I mean for a brief window there we had the wonderful situation where the alternative government, the Labor Party, had a strong poker machine reform position. And that was fabulous. And I applaud Bec White for taking it to the last state election.
But now that Labor has back-flipped and jumped into the back pocket of the poker machine industry, along with the Liberal Party – it’s pretty crowded in the back pocket of the poker machine industry these days – regrettably, we’ve got to take this decision out of the hands of those politicians and make the decision ourselves as a community.
Journalist
Elise Archer questioned this morning why you are putting your input in to a state issue. Can you elaborate on why you feel that it is necessary?
Andrew Wilkie
I’m a community leader, and I’m a loud voice for poker machine reform. Of course, I would weigh in on these sorts of issues. To suggest that as a federal MP, I shouldn’t involve myself in an area of policy as significant as poker machine reform, is a ludicrous thing for Elise to say. You know, this is a deeply held belief I have, and I’ve campaigned for years for poker machine reform. I’d like to uninvent them, but we can’t uninvent them, we’re stuck with them. So let’s work out the best way to reduce the harm. Labor had a good policy to take them out of pubs and clubs. That, you know, there’s other harm minimisation measures could be introduced. But before we even start that conversation, let’s find out for sure what the community thinks. We know from polling about 80% of Tasmanians want no, or less, poker machines. Let’s respond to that. Let’s have a referendum. Let’s find out what the majority of Tasmanians really want. Let’s ask the question: Do you want poker machines? Do you want them in pubs? Or do you want them out of pubs? Do you think the license holders should pay market value for those licenses? Or should they get them for free, virtually for free, which is the current arrangement? I mean, this is what democracy is all about – responding to the community. But at the moment in Tasmania, we don’t have a democracy when it comes to poker machines, because the government and the alternative government are in lockstep and in the back pocket of the poker machine industry. Let’s take responsibility away from the politicians. And let’s give it to the community. Because that’s what democracy is all about.
Tasmanian Times
Just on your back pocket comment, the Liberal Party agreed to voluntarily disclose donations over $5,000, Labor’s matching that. How well do you think that is working in the absence of actual reform on donations?
Andrew Wilkie
I’m sorry to say I simply do not trust the government. And I do not trust the Labor Party to make good on that promise to declare its donations above $5,000. I mean, why should we trust them? You know, if these people were trustworthy, then a long time ago, laws would have been introduced into the parliament for full disclosure of election donations. They would have been very effective laws, you know, for example, a threshold maybe of $1,000, real time disclosure, banning of donations from the gambling industry and other industries of dubious character. They didn’t do that when they had the chance. So why should we trust them now to even declare things when it’s not required by law?
Journalist
Well, I’ve got you here, I might just check to see if you’ve got a stance on the federal government’s handling of the Astra Zeneca vaccine rollout and the vaccine rollout in the country.
Andrew Wilkie
Well obviously many people in the community will be disappointed with the news that the Astra Zeneca vaccine will be limited in its rollout, particularly seeing as we’re counting on it in such big numbers and produced by CSL within Australia. And, you know, one of the reasons there was so much hope was that the government gave us all so much hope. With the benefit of hindsight, I think the government would now realise they would have been better to have talked in goal aspirations, but always informed the community of the risks to supply from overseas, and so on. But look, you know, we are where we are, I’m not going to become one of these people trying to score political points about the vaccine. And I noticed now at the federal level, too many politicians are trying to score points. You know, the government was trying to score points by giving us too much certainty about the vaccine. The opposition is trying to score points now by criticising the government about the problems with the vaccine. The fact is, we are, we are where we are. The community wants the government to work as hard as it can to source and to roll out vaccines, but all wrapped within medical and health advice. And so long as the government is acting currently on the best health advice, I think most people will accept that. I personally have no reservations about the Astra Zeneca vaccine. And when my turn comes up, I’ll be there to get it.
Tasmanian Times
There’s been a little bit of movement on the proposal for a Tasmanian AFL team. What are you as a member for Clark able to do to support that?
Andrew Wilkie
I’ll take every opportunity to speak up for a Tassie AFL team. I think the AFL behaviour in this matter has been pretty, pretty bad. Yeah, I support the government in trying to get a team so long as doesn’t cost the taxpayer money. Mind you, all this focus on AFL has been at the expense of focus on other things. I mean, we could have had an A-League soccer team by now. The only reason we don’t have an elite soccer team is because the state government hasn’t genuinely got behind that push and committed to a rectangular stadium. So yeah, that’s it. Let’s get an AFL team but let’s grab what we can while we can, including an A-League soccer team.
