discussion
trials and tribulations
I guess it was only a matter of time. I’ve been making a real effort to keep my happy face on this year, but lately that’s been an interesting experience. The recent poker machine reform backflip/compromise/betrayal (take your pick) has sorely tested this fixed grin, but I’ve kept smiling nevertheless.
tackling problem gambling in australia – my analysis
Today, less than a week after Australia’s media decided that the Julia Gillard was walking away from Andrew Wilkie and poker machine reforms, the Federal government announced its plan to tackle problem gambling.
rubbery figures and desperate spin
What a week it’s been for the pokies. First we heard that poker machine reform was dying, that Julia Gillard was preparing to cut Andrew Wilkie and his demands loose. Then we heard the reforms were dead and buried. Then they weren’t. Then they were. There were backflips and betrayals, accusations and allegations, demands and denials. It’s been bedlam!
i read the news today, oh boy…
I read the news today, oh boy…
That’s it. Poker machine reforms are dead. Kaput. Finito. Done and dusted. They have ceased to be. At least, so we’re being told.
But it’s not Julia Gillard breaking the bad news. Not Andrew Wilkie either. No, it’s the press that has the scoop; they’re the ones in the know.
an EPIC struggle, but the end is in sight
It’s been a long haul… but the battle for Castlemaine may be moving into its final days. The VCGR this week held a two-day hearing into the Maryborough Highland Society’s application to bring 65 additional poker machines to Castlemaine, and a decision is due within the next four weeks.
clubs, daily telegraph go after garrett
The local papers of NSW have a long history of publishing pro-clubs, pro-poker machines articles that are heavy on sensationalism and light on facts. That’s no surprise given that the clubs industry across the state is a major source of support and advertising revenue for such publications.
But when the story involves someone like Peter Garrett, the Federal School Education, Early Childhood and Youth Minister, then the big guns get involved. And this morning’s story in The Daily Telegraph is a prime example.
clubs slam wilkie for acting like clubs
The clubs lobby has rebuked Andrew Wilkie’s victory call on the introduction of controversial betting limits on poker machines, claiming that the practice of making unsubstantiated claims in the media is their prerogative, not his.
show me the money!
As a blogger who writes about Australia’s gambling industry, with a particular focus on poker machines, I’m often thankful that I live in Victoria. That has nothing to do with the actual industry, of course… it was on Victorian pokies that I blew roughly $100,000 over three years of full-blown poker machine addiction.
rage against the poker machine – a 2011 retrospective
2011 has been a big year in the hearts and political minds of Australia. We’ve had a succession of issues that have engendered fierce debate and polarised the country (if you believe the papers). Climate change and the carbon tax. Gay marriage. Freedom of speech. Racial discrimination. Asylum seekers. Religion in schools. Qantas and the FWA. The media inquiry. Mining tax. It’s a long and by no means exhaustive list.
Yet arguably the single biggest issue for 2011 was poker machines. The scene was set late in 2010 when Julia Gillard shook hands with Andrew Wilkie and secured not only his vote, but also her role as Prime Minister… and in doing so dragged the pokies onto the national stage. Her commitment to true poker machine reform as part of this deal horrified the industry, and we’ve all been talking about it ever since.
who the hell is scott leach?
There’s a new voice coming out of NSW in the fight against poker machine reforms, one that makes Clubs CEO Anthony Ball look like the very soul of discretion and moderation… and that takes some doing. He’s taken a back seat until now, but recent events appear to have sparked a fire and he’s not holding back any more.
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Scott Leach.
tim costello is NOT a hypocrite: the full story
Well, that didn’t take long. Just two days after Father Chris Riley came under intense criticism nationally for becoming the latest face of the campaign against poker machine reforms, Clubs Australia have hit back. In a breathtaking exercise of extraordinary spin and selective perception, they have labelled Reverend Tim Costello a hypocrite and more.
priest of the pokies
The Clubs industry have moved into the next phase of their “save our pokies” campaign. This is the “high-profile respectable friends” phase. Yesterday it was David Schwarz, former AFL footballer, former problem gambler and current employee of ALH & Woolworths. Schwarz released a video explaining why (he thinks) mandatory pre-commitment won’t work. The video was, naturally, accompanied by a Clubs Australia media release.
my response to david schwarz
Former AFL player, radio personality and high-profile problem gambler David Schwarz has recorded a video, where he speaks in graphic detail about his gambling years and why he believes mandatory pre-commitment for poker machines won’t work. I’ve just watched the video… my apologies, David, but in all the years I’ve listened to you on SEN, that is the biggest load of bullshit I have ever heard you come up with.
another day, another media beat-up
Adelaide newspaper The Advertiser ran an article yesterday about poker machine reforms. Titled “Wilkie proposal a gamble: Authority”, the article (written by state editor Greg Kelton) covered comments made by Alan Moss, the presiding member of the South Australian Independent Gambling Authority.
personal responsibility (guest post)
Guest post time. Andrew Tiedt is a good friend of mine from the wide world of Twitter, where he is better known as @mrtiedt. He blogs about NSW politics at mrtiedt.blogspot.com, and he was kind enough to contribute the following for cyenne.com.
