Funding built in for venues
Electronic poker machines will be removed from Tasmanian pubs and clubs within five years if the Labor party wins in the March election.
According to ABC News, the Labor plan would see around 2,300 poker machines stripped from venues by 2023 but remain in casinos. Under the Labor policy, a $55 million package would be implemented to assist affected venues.
The package includes a “club sustainability fund” of $5 million that would “ensure important clubs, like Rolls” will suffer no negative impact, Labor said. The policy also includes $20 million in “transitional support” for venues that remove their machines prior to 2023; a $25 million “loan pool” to provide long-term, low-interest loans to businesses transitioning to new business models; $500,000 in grants to sporting clubs; $500,000 in business development advice; and $4 million for staff retraining and professional development.
In a statement, Labor said pokies can affect “an individual’s health, their family, relationships and work. For every person who is harmed by their own gambling, seven other people are affected.”
Labor leader Rebecca White said, “The Liberals are not willing to make this decision, which is the right one for the economy and the right decision for Tasmanians.”
All poker machines in Tasmania are operated by a single company, the Federal Group, which is wholly owned by the Sydney-based Farrell family, ABC reported.
White said, “We have a once-in-a-generation chance to make the right decision—and the right decision is to remove poker machines from our suburbs and towns and keep them in casinos.” She said Tasmanians lost $110 million on poker machines in pubs and clubs in the most recent financial year, “money that could be better spent in our communities supporting small business and families.
“The recirculation of that $110 million in the Tasmanian community has been demonstrated to increase 180 jobs across Tasmania if only half of that money is re-spent in the communities,” White said.
Anglicize Tasmania welcomed Labor’s announcement and said it is “pleased politicians were catching up with community sentiment.
“Labor has responded to the clear vision of Tasmanians who want thriving local neighborhoods free of poker machines,” Anglicare’s Meg Webb said in a statement. “They examined the evidence, listened to local communities and have made the right choice on this issue. The opportunity is still there for the Liberal Government to reconsider its policy.”
In September, a joint parliamentary committee rejected a ban on EGMs in pubs and clubs but called for a “significant” reduction in machine numbers.
