Premier Jeremy Rockliff should intervene and return government poker machine policy to genuine harm reduction via a card-based play system, following further revelations Treasurer Abetz’s announced approach will make problem gambling worse.
The Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission has written to Treasurer Abetz expressing serious concern over the negative impact of Liebrals’ announced pokies policy, released following the abandonment of a nation-leading, harm reduction approach of introducing card-based play.
The Commission’s view follows the release of a Deloitte Economics investigating card-based play, which found the reforms would reduce gambling harm and improve Tasmania’s Gross State Product by $230 million and deliver a net benefit of over 200 jobs.
Instead of locking in economic and job creation benefits and protecting vulnerable Tasmanians from predatory poker machines, the Liberals have caved to the influence of the gambling lobby and is now proposing an approach that will make things worse.
The Liberals’ pokies policy is utterly non-sensical and against the public interest. Premier Rockliff should intervene and put Tasmania back on track to lead the nation with an approach to pokies harm that prioritises people and the public good — not its donors in the pokies industry.
