The toxic by-product of your Government and Labor's cosy, supplicant relationship with the gambling industry is on its way to the Legislative Council.
It is very distressing to have spent some two days speaking on this bill. This bill has been a really long time coming. It has been years.
What this legislation does is embed poker machines and new forms of gambling in pubs and clubs across Tasmania forever.
Under the cover of darkness, Labor voted with the Liberals more than 40 times to push this sickening and parasitic Bill through the Lower House.
Our opposition to this bill, which entrenches a rotten, life destroying, poker machine empire in disadvantaged communities has been long and consistent.
As we know, the proliferation of poker machines in areas of socio-economic disadvantage across the state has had a profoundly harmful impact.
Between August last year and August this year Tasmanians lost $205 million to poker machines. Fewer Tasmanians are losing more of their money to these machines.
I want to talk about the unhealthy relationship between the gambling industry and the two major parties in this state.
We went back and forth a bit at the table about this government's dishonesty over the tax rate for electronic gaming machines in casinos.
What was the date on which you first became aware of the advice of the planned tax rate for poker machines in casinos?