Latest news with #TimCostello
ABC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Glenorchy dubbed the 'slot machine capital' of Tasmania as mayor calls for gambling reform
Sue Hickey We have what is colloquially known as the 'Golden Mile' and certainly two former mayors were strong advocates for dealing at the state government level with this issue. And we do have a statement of commitment on gambling, which only gives us the authority to advocate or partner and engage with our community organisations and service providers, because as a local government, we literally do not have any power to police any of this. Kylie Baxter Do you think that a pre-commitment card would be an effective way to address the harm in your town, mayor? Sue Hickey Well, I really like the suggestions put forward by Tim Costello. He's obviously all across this and I don't care what form of harm removal or harm measures that they use, whether it's cashless gaming, $1 bets, slower spin speeds, pre-commitment technology, something has to be done about it because, I think, we as a nation and as a state have to ask ourselves, what is the social and economic cost of not dealing with this issue? I personally know of the destruction of gambling to a friend of mine's life and livelihood and then the breakdown of the family and just horrendous outcomes from that. But over my life in politics, I've come across so many people who have been broken by their gaming addiction. So we need the government, whoever this is going to be, to invest in harm minimisation, urgently. And we've got to stop doing the talking, and we've got to do some action. Kylie Baxter The data tells us there are 240 pokey machines in Glenorchy. Would you like to see a reduction also in the number of machines available for use? Sue Hickey Absolutely. That's from a personal perspective. Obviously, other people would have different perspectives. If I had my way, there'd probably be none. But, you know, there are lots of people who can gamble safely. You know, Nana who goes there and spends $5 or $10 on a Sunday with her friends, obviously can handle it. But there are other people who might be in a pit in their lives of some sort, and it suddenly becomes an escape. And then next thing you know, it's an addiction, and then it's a tragedy. So this is where I think there needs to be some controls around the electronic gaming machines.
ABC News
17-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Australian aid projects in limbo after Trump administration scrapped USAID, FOI reveals
Two Australian-backed aid projects were left in limbo when the United States government cut USAID funding, slashing billions of dollars of aid worldwide. Freedom of Information (FOI) documents obtained by the ABC show Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) officials sought details on what projects would be affected by Donald Trump's decision to close USAID. The documents show USAID was "holding funds" paid by Australia for two separate aid projects. A total of $1.5 million given to USAID to help deliver a clean drinking water project in Indonesia was returned to DFAT on June 12 this year. Details of the other project were redacted from the documents obtained by the ABC due to including "material in the nature of opinions and recommendations in relation to the department's deliberative processes", DFAT said. Former World Vision Australia CEO Reverend Tim Costello said he was "so glad that Australian taxpayers' money came back" but said the situation had been a close call for DFAT. "[Donald] Trump and [Elon] Musk destroyed USAID and it is going to cost 15 million lives by 2030. Having Australian taxpayers' dollars lost in that would have been an insult to injury," he said. The ABC's FOI request to DFAT specifically asked for: "All documents relating to the transfer of DFAT funds to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)." The Indonesia water project was set up as a Delegated Cooperation Arrangement, DFAT said. These arrangements allow governments "to delegate support to another donor partner", while "the lead donor holds the contractual relationship with the implementing partner for the program, and funds them directly", DFAT added. In this Indonesia project, Australia contributed more money but USAID took the lead on the ground, the FOI documents show. DFAT told the ABC that such arrangements were "common practice". But Rev Costello said he wasn't aware that direct funding being made to USAID was common practice. "I was surprised by that," he said, but added "there is a lot of cooperation between them [DFAT and USAID]". "I didn't know that we directly funded USAID but I assume it's joint projects and I know that the humanitarian sector see many donor governments working in cooperation," he added. Rev Costello said it would have been a "sobering lesson" for DFAT to have to ask for the money to be returned. Research Associate at the Lowy Institute's Indo-Pacific Development Centre, Grace Stanhope, said financial cooperation with other bilateral government agencies was "really quite rare". "I suspect we do cooperate fairly often with the US but it just happens through a third-party," she added. Ms Stanhope said $1.5m was a small amount of money in the context of Australia's total aid spending. But she said it was important it was returned. DFAT acted as co-donor for the Indonesia Urban Resilient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Activity, which was also known as IUWASH Tangguh. The project aimed to increase access to "poor-inclusive, climate-resilient, safely managed drinking water and sanitation services" in Indonesia. USAID was the lead donor, which meant it took the lead in implementing the project and agreed to "administer and manage the contribution of DFAT", according to the signed arrangement document. As seen in the plans in the FOI documents, Australia agreed to commit a total of $2.9 million ($US1.9 million) while USAID agreed to pay $US408,861.96. Only $1.5 million was ever actually sent to USAID from DFAT. The second payment of $1.4 million was cancelled following USAID's shutdown. USAID made the privately held development company Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) the implementing partner for the project. A spokesperson from DAI confirmed to the ABC that the "IUWASH Tangguh was among those DAI projects terminated". The spokesperson added the project was scheduled to run until March 2027, but was unable to comment on the amount of funds unspent. This program was one of "many programs in the region that have been impacted by USAID cuts", chief of policy and advocacy at Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), Jessica Mackenzie, said. ACFID is an Australian non-government organisation involved in international development and aid. "Water, sanitation and hygiene programs are core to development programming and help change lives," Ms Mackenzie added. Ms Mackenzie added that Australia often worked with like-minded partners on development programs and "Australia has jointly funded numerous development projects with USAID, especially in the Pacific". She added that there has been a shift away from joint funding in recent years as countries are "driven by a desire for more direct control over aid delivery". "Though with decreasing humanitarian funding in 2025, after significant donor cuts, we may see more pooled funds emerging soon," Ms Mackenzie added. Ms Stanhope said that while this incident would likely make DFAT "pause before doing joint projects bilaterally" going forward, she "wouldn't want this to become a reason for DFAT to do less co-financing". "I think the bigger picture is that especially in Asia and the Pacific, lots of donors doing lots of small projects leads to aid fragmentation and inefficiencies and duplication of projects," she said. "Something that we should be doing more of is co-financing with other implementing agencies and only when it's sensible."
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What's gambling cost? Advocates slam political inaction
Australia risks losing a whole generation of kids to gambling, as criticisms are levelled at the government for failing to implement reforms from a landmark report two years on. The "You win some, you lose more" parliamentary inquiry into online gambling and its impacts, chaired by fierce gambling reform advocate the late Peta Murphy MP, delivered 31 recommendations in 2023. The unanimously supported proposals focused on reducing harm, protecting children and applying a long-overdue public health approach to gambling in this country. But two years to the day, gambling reform advocates, health bodies and church groups say the federal government have been silent. More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said. "Smoking is legal, but kids shouldn't be seeing it. Same with gambling. People can gamble, but there's grooming of kids," Rev Costello told AAP. "We now have, with the two-year implementation (delay), a whole generation of kids who only think of NRL and AFL in terms of odds." Gambling harms lead to suicides, one-in-four 18-to-24-year-old young men are addicted, 600,000 underage Australians gambled last year, and domestic violence spikes threefold if there is gambling in a family, Rev Costello said. "This industry has been treated as having a normal social license when it's actually pushing very addictive products," he said. "We have literally given our kids over to sports betting companies as fodder for their profits." Vested interests, including the AFL and NRL, sports betting companies, and the commercial broadcasting networks, had stalled reforms, Rev Costello said. The nation's peak body for doctors, the Australian Medical Association, is demanding the government immediately action all 31 recommendations, accusing it of exposing millions of Australians to predatory betting companies. "Every day of delay means more Australians fall victim to an industry that profits from harm and despair," AMA President Danielle McMullen said. Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron expressed deep disappointment in the government's failure to act on a bipartisan road map to tackle gambling harm. "Two years on, the silence from Canberra is deafening," Rev Cameron said. "While the government hesitates, lives are being torn apart." The three say the government must use their parliamentary mandate to make systematic reforms, including banning gambling ads, implementing a national regulator and treating gambling as a health issue. A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she has had several meetings with harm reduction advocates, broadcasters and sporting codes. He said the government had delivered "some of the most significant gambling harm reduction measures in Australian history", pointing to mandatory ID verification and banning credit cards for online gambling and launching BetStop, the National Self-Exclusion Register. Australians top the list for the world's highest gambling losses, placing $244.3 billion in bets every year. National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491
Canberra Times
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Canberra Times
What's gambling cost? Advocates slam political inaction
More than 80 per cent of Australians want a gambling advertisement ban, and parents are sick of turning on the TV only to find their 10-year-olds discussing the game in terms of odds, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said.
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Landmark poker machine reforms delayed by years, angering anti-gambling advocates
Landmark reforms to make poker machines safer for Victorian punters have been delayed by years by the Allan government, a decision that has infuriated colleagues and gambling reformers. Former premier Daniel Andrews made a shock policy announcement in 2023 to force all punters to preset how much they were willing to lose before playing the pokies — the scheme is often known as "carded play" or "mandatory precommitment". A bill to give the government the power to set up carded play was introduced to the parliament last November, with a trial to be held in 40 venues for three months beginning in the middle of this year. But that deadline has passed. Crown Casino was forced to implement carded play on its 2,400 pokies following the royal commission into its behaviour. As a result, pokies losses have decreased at the casino and it has been held up as a beacon of responsible gambling by some of the casino's once-fiercest critics, including Tim Costello. The legislation to set up a statewide scheme passed the lower house, but the government is yet to bring on a debate in the upper house, despite having the votes needed to pass the laws. The ABC understands that the government will debate the bill in the coming two weeks of parliament, under a plan that will defer the statewide scheme until well after the 2026 election. A trial will still need to be held to find the appropriate technology and to test the scheme. That decision is reflected in this week's state budget, with Treasury banking on pokies taxes continuing to flow to state coffers without interruption. Last year, the state collected $1.4 billion in pokies taxes — that is forecast to grow to $1.5 billion by 2028-29. Had the state planned to implement carded play, the tax take would have dropped. When the bill was first introduced late last year, a trial was slated to begin in May. On Wednesday, Premier Jacinta Allan said negotiations in the upper house were continuing. "We are committed to those reforms,'' Ms Allan said. The laws have the support of the Greens, Animal Justice Party and the Legalise Cannabis party, meaning they could pass the upper house without major negotiation. Reverand Costello from the Alliance for Gambling Reform has urged the premier to act, saying pokies are the most harmful form of gambling. "They are literally the crack cocaine of gambling,'' he said. "The cashless card at Crown pokies is working to prevent harm and Labor promised the public to trial and implement this card to all pub and Club and pub pokies. The Coalition is opposed to the scheme, citing concerns from the Australian Hotels Association. Greens MP Katherine Copsey said the party hoped Labor was not planning to capitulate to the pokies lobby. "That would be unconscionable by Labor. The Greens are ready to work with Labor to pass this pokies reform right now. We have the numbers in parliament, so what are Labor waiting for?" she said.
