A survey of all Tasmanian election candidates has revealed that 39 potential MHAs are committed to fight for the introduction of a poker machine cashless card in the next session of parliament.
However, the Alliance For Gambling Reform’s Chief Advocate, Tim Costello, is alarmed that while the public strongly backs reform the two major parties are retreating with no candidates from either the Liberals or Labor expressing their support.
“This election is a critical opportunity for Tasmania to finally tackle the horrendous damage that gambling is wreaking on this state,” Rev Costello said.
“After both the major parties previously committed to a gold standard, mandatory, pre-commitment, cashless card, it is alarming to witness the collapse of this support in our poll of candidates due to the bullying of a ruthless gambling industry.”
Rev Costello said it was critical that Tasmanians put pressure on their local candidates to support nation-leading reform.
Poker machines are clustered in Tasmania’s most disadvantaged suburbs and Tasmanians lose over $500,000 every single day to poker machines. Close to half the money taken by pokies comes from people with a gambling problem and on average, for every person with is impacted by poker machines, seven people around them are also being harmed.
The Alliance emailed every candidate in the up-coming Tasmanian poll asking:
If elected, will you support the introduction of a mandatory pre-commitment card for poker machines in Tasmania during this next term of government?
Tasmanian based advocate for the Alliance, Mark Kempster, who lost $100,000s to gambling, said other ‘solutions’ such as facial recognition technology are a sham.
“Facial recognition will not have any meaningful impact on the cancer that are poker machines and will not do anything to prevent gambling harm and addiction from occurring,” he said.
“It’s time our governments and major parties listened to people like me who have lived through the damage gambling addiction does, not the pokies barons in this state who only care about their bottom line. They don’t care about the harm and destruction they are causing.”
Candidates supporting the introduction of the card are all 35 Tasmanian Greens candidates, Andrew Jenner (Tas Nationals), plus independents Elise Archer, Chrissy Materia, Jack Davenport, Kristie Johnston, Ernst Millett, Rayne Allinson, Caroline Larner, Louise Cherrie, Peter George, Matthew Morgan, Jags Goldsmith, Jiri Lev, Fenella Edwards.
Tasmanian Times asked the Liberal Party, Labor Party and the National Party why none of their candidates had responded to the Alliance’s question. We received no response.
“The fact Liberal and Labor candidates failed to respond to the survey is a clear sign they’ve been bought by the pokies industry – Federal Hotels and the THA,” commented Kristie Johnston (MHA, Clark).
“Those candidates are more interested in doing the industry’s bidding than protecting the interests of Tasmanians.
The player card was the pet project of Michael Ferguson – he needs to come out and say whether he at least is still supportive of the card, even if the rest of his party are too cowardly to admit their backflip.”
“Every month people in my community of Clark lose more than $2 million to pokies. More than 75 per cent of that money is lost to pokies’ barons in Glenorchy. About half of these losses come from people with a gambling problem.”
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