Election is March 17
In the run-up to South Australia’s March 17 parliamentary election, the Greens Party is pushing a plan that would eliminate pokies from pubs and clubs within five years. According to Adelaidenow.com, the Greens strategy is to undercut “the original No Pokies MP, Nick Xenophon.”
The former federal senator, well-known as a crusader against slot machines, is taking a softer line on gambling these days, indicating he is more interested in minimizing the social problems caused by pokies in pubs and clubs.
In an interview with the Australian, he said, “Reducing the harm caused by poker machines is pretty fundamental, but it would have to be a suite of measures, including more people getting assistance and reducing the number of people getting hurt in the first place. But most people just don’t get help when they have a serious gambling problem.”
Launching her own campaign, Greens MP Tammy Franks slammed Xenophon for failing to make good on his pledge to eliminate pokies. “This will be a real test for Nick Xenophon to go back to his roots,” she said. “The man who came to power through the ‘no pokies’ brand has a policy that doesn’t look set to get rid of pokies.
“We want pokies out of our clubs and pubs,” Franks said. “They can stay in the casino. That’s a place of gambling.”
Hotels Association General Manager Ian Horne said ridding the state of pokies “will trash thousands of jobs and see many country and regional pubs and community clubs simply go to the wall.” He said the Greens have “done no analysis and had no discussions with clubs or hotel industry,” which employs about employed about 26,000 South Australians.
The Greens say lawmakers are “addicted” to the revenue generated by pokies at the expense of their constituents who lose money at record levels to the games. A December report in the Sydney Morning Herald said Australian gambling losses “have hit an all-time high, with punters burning through nearly $24 billion in 12 months,” more than half of which goes to pokies at clubs and pubs across the country.
A recent analysis by the Australian Gambling Research Centre said an estimated 6.8 million Australians are regular gamblers, and most compulsive gamblers are unemployed low-income young men ages 18 to 29.
Xenophon told ABC News that his SA Best Party “will have policies that will be in stark contrast to Labor and Liberal in terms of reducing the impact of poker machines and also tackling other forms of gambling.”
