Tag: Julia Gillard
pokies? fasten your seatbelts!
The Federal election of 2010 was one of the strangest and most evenly-balanced elections in Australian history. The counting of votes dragged on, and it became apparent that neither the ALP nor the Coalition would be able to govern in their own right. Deals would need to be struck.
election 2010- pokie reform at last!
It may have taken 17 days, on top of one of the shortest and strangest election campaigns I can remember… but we finally have a government and a prime minister. A minority government, sure, but the wait is finally over. And with Independents Oakeshott and Windsor joining Wilkie and the Greens in throwing their weight behind Labor, our political landscape will never be the same.
gillard, abbott and the pokies of rooty hill
Last night saw an interesting moment in the current Federal election campaign. Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott, live on stage at the Rooty Hill RSL in Sydney’s west… but not at the same time. An audience of 200 undecided voters to ask them the hard questions… although they seemed quite partial to Abbott, and saved the hardest questions for Gillard. I guess that’s inevitable, given he’s the local boy.
But for me, the event provided a telling snapshot of the political world’s attitude towards poker machines and problem gambling. Rooty Hill RSL is massive, with a bowling alley and a laser skirmish centre to complement the 800 pokies in residence. Yes, 800 machines… as a Victorian, with our venue cap of 105 machines, that figure is almost unfathomable.
election 2010 – the silence is deafening
I’ve held off on commenting too much about this over the past week or so, but here we are. Two weeks out from the Federal Election of 2010, and to date neither of the major parties have said a word about problem gambling. Nothing. As far as they’re concerned it’s a non-issue.
want poker machines? just ask
At the risk of becoming obsessed with the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, they’re just such a big target.
When VCAT and the Supreme Court upheld the wishes of the people of Romsey to remain pokie-free, Jim Hogan (who was behind the failed bid to put pokies in the Romsey Hotel) commented that this decision would make it harder, if not impossible for new venues to open in Victoria in the future. Jim, looks like you were wrong on that one.
