This email isn't a call to action, just a quick update on the latest pokies announcement, and why we must keep fighting in this campaign.
You may have heard today that the Parliament has passed a set of watered-down pokies reforms. I just received an email (included below) from Karen, a GetUp member whose husband took his own life because of gambling addiction. She is urging us to keep up the fight on pokies reform, and I couldn't agree more.
There's more detail here for those who are interested, but here are the 3 most important facts:
1. The gambling industry is pretty happy with this legislation: a sure sign that it's still rubbish.
2. This is exactly why we must continue to focus on the corporations who own and operate pokie machines. Moving the biggest operators in the market - like Woolworths - will completely change the game. Not only will it immediately start to reduce the blight of problem gambling, but it will also mean there are companies with an incentive actually to lobby for reform as this fight continues.
3. The reforms are a long way from what the Productivity Commission recommended to reduce the harm of problem gambling. The legislation relies on a solution called voluntary pre-commitment has been demonstrated over and over again to be a failure. So in the meantime we must keep up our campaign.
For more detail about the package, click here.
When government makes some change, however inadequate, it's natural to feel a little relieved that at least something is being done. But GetUp isn't just about change, it's about change that makes a difference. We have more actions planned for this campaign next week, and we'll be in touch about them soon. If you read Karen's email below, I think you'll agree that our work here is far from done.
Thanks for all that you do
Sam, for the GetUp Team.
--Here's the email that Karen sent me. I wanted to pass it on.--
Hi Sam,
I want to urge you to continue your campaign against poker machines despite the legislation announced today.
I've been following this campaign since the beginning. Sixteen years ago I lost my partner, Robin, to suicide after he lost everything on poker machines for the third time. People who become addicted to gambling are not anti-social misfits. They come from all walks of life and most are like Robin - good people who get sucked in by this pernicious and manipulative form of gambling. Robin was a wonderful man - a trade -union official who was adored by his members, a fabulous father and a true mate. I believe that poker machines stole him from us.
I'm sure the changes we are requesting - to have a cap on the amount of each bet and on the amount you can lose in an hour, would have made a huge difference to him. Compulsive gamblers don't do it for the money - they do it for the adrenalin. So with a cap, there is still the adrenalin, but also some sort of reality check as well as the possibility of some money to take home to feed the family.
If we can't get rid of these machines, at the very least we can make them do less harm.
Please keep fighting.
Karen T.