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POKER MACHINES
Throughout my career I have been opposed to poker machines. I am not a wowser, but I do believe that poker machines are unsafe products that cause untold harm in our community.
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Working as a suburban lawyer I began seeing clients whose lives were torn apart by their addiction to poker machines, or the addiction of a family member.
A landmark report by the Productivity Commission in 1999 found that there were up to 250,000 Australians with a gambling problem because of the pokies, and each of them affected, on average, the lives of 7 others.
That’s almost 1 in 10 Australians who’ve been affected by the pokies.
Poker machines are unsafe, with over 50% of losses coming from those who are hooked.
State Government are the biggest ‘Jackpot Junkies’, raking in $4 billion a year in pokies taxes and turning a blind eye to the untold harm caused.
That’s why I was encouraged by Kevin Rudd, in the lead up to the 2007 election campaign, when he said that he hated poker machines and knew what they did to families.
The Federal Parliament has the power to take the action that the State Governments have refused to take to curb the damage.
The Productivity Commission is undertaking a new Inquiry on gambling, and it will hand down its report in November 2009. In the meantime, I’m raising this issue and fighting for change as hard as I can.
If you have a personal story to tell about the impact of gambling on your life – especially with pokies – please contact me.
For assistance or counselling with problem gambling, please call the Problem Gambling Helpline on 1800 060 757. The line is open 24 hours a day.
Supporting documentation
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