Latest news with #WhiteRibbon
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Gareth's podcast experiment helped change lives, but his success will be short-lived
It is part of a scheme that requires pubs and clubs to direct a portion of their profits to a central fund when they are approved to increase their gaming machines, to offset the potential harms that might be generated when more pokies are introduced into the neighbourhood. CECAL has received $707,985 over five years. However, while the poker machines remain in perpetuity, the funding is finite. Wyatt was officially informed last week that the government will not renew CECAL's funding when it expires next year – a decision that he says will mean hundreds of clients lose access to gambling counselling and early intervention services. 'I wish I had better words to describe how gut-wrenching this decision is,' Wyatt said. 'I am not wanting to sound anti-gambling, however there are many who gamble beyond their needs and cannot control their addiction. The social costs I see are devastating. 'It's getting worse every year.' Poker machine players lost $717 million at venues in Canterbury Bankstown in 2023-24, more than any other local government area in NSW, according to the auditor-general's report. Wyatt has seen gambling show up as a factor in homelessness and putting more pressure on social housing, schools and hospitals. Increasingly, it is a factor in domestic violence cases. The Bankstown Women's Health Centre, which also received a grant when the Hurlstone Park Hotel was approved for more machines, will also lose funding next year. The caseworker whose salary was paid by the funding has already left for a job with greater security. 'Our funding was to address domestic violence in general, keeping in mind that gambling is a major contributor to domestic violence,' chief executive Mariam Mourad said. '[The caseworker] was always so busy.' Hurlstone Park Hotel is part of a multibillion dollar hospitality empire built by Sam Arnaout, whose company Iris Capital has casinos in the ACT and Northern Territory and three of the 20 most profitable hotels in NSW by gaming revenue in its portfolio. The harm offset scheme, known as the Community Benefit Payment Scheme, was set up in 2018 after the embarrassing exposure of donations to community groups by hotels seeking to increase their poker machine entitlements, sometimes in exchange for letters of support. A year earlier, the anti-domestic violence advocacy group White Ribbon backtracked on accepting a $50,000 donation from the Fairfield Hotel that had been contingent on the pub being allowed to increase its pokies. The chief executive of White Ribbon announced her retirement a month later. Loading The Community Benefit Payment Scheme formalised such payments and required an independent committee to select the recipients, which was intended to give community groups greater freedom to support or oppose an increase in pokies at their local venues without being conflicted by the opportunity to gain funding. A spokesman for Liquor and Gaming NSW said the payments were administered in accordance with the administration guidelines for ad hoc grants, and the beneficiaries were published online. But Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron said the scheme was fundamentally flawed as there was no public tender process, little transparency and no effective evaluation of outcomes. 'This model ties important, and often desperately needed, community support to gambling harm,' Cameron said. 'We should be finding ways to reduce, not entrench, dependence on an industry that's contributing to a public health crisis across NSW.' Labor came to government promising to reduce the number of poker machines in NSW, but while the number of entitlements has decreased by 3000, the number of machines in operation has increased by around 1000 due to venues electing to use their entitlements. Gaming Minister David Harris told the Herald last month that it would take time to change the gambling landscape in NSW without many people losing their jobs, and pointed to the 2024 NSW Gambling Survey, which found just under 1 per cent of the population was experiencing high-risk gambling harm. The survey also reported that around one-fifth of respondents said they had experienced some form of gambling harm, including as a result of someone else's gambling. Wyatt believes the prevalence is 'grossly underestimated'. He had tried advertising for gambling referrals on flyers and in newspapers before he sponsored SC Playbook, and the response rate was poor. 'I knew it was an issue out there, but it's hard to get people to put their hand up and admit they have a problem. 'You can't just walk up to someone at a poker machine and say, 'I've seen you at a poker machine every day this week, are you OK?'' SC Playbook host Tim Williams remains conversational and relatable to his audience of fantasy football aficionados when he plugs CECAL's counselling services. One typical promotion began: 'If you're doing it tough on the punt and every time I mention CECAL gambling and getting a bit of help with your punting you get a few little butterflies – and not the good kind of butterflies, like the ones that go, 'Shit he could be talking about me here' – don't ignore it. It's probably … a sign that you might be losing control with your punting a little bit. Absolutely nothing wrong with that guys, you're there with thousands of other Australians who are in the same boat, but it is important you do something about it…' Loading Williams said his relationship with CECAL was 'a match made in heaven'. 'I was able to speak from experience as someone who does like a punt, fortunately enough to be in control of it, but I've had mates who have gone down a darker path,' he said. A St George Illawarra Dragons supporter who recently called into the show said he had fallen into a habit of pulling into pubs on his way home and gambling away his money when he heard the promotion for CECAL on his headphones at work. 'I just started to think about it a bit and I thought, 'I've got to get control',' he said. He wrote a message to Wyatt and then sat on it for a few days, before deciding that Wyatt's fondness for footy made him a like-minded soul, even if he backed the wrong team. 'I started seeing Gareth about a year ago now and since that time I don't think I've had any blow-ups with the missus. You can get caught up in the lying of trying to hide your gambling and once you come clean and you're free from all that, you realise how much of a strain it had on you.' Wyatt is yet to tell his clients whether CECAL will be able to continue to help them after next year. Last year, he met with Gaming Minister David Harris to lobby for more gambling counselling services. 'Our funding is a mere drop in the ocean compared to what the government is taking in through gambling revenue,' he said. 'If governments are going to take truckloads of money out of communities, then surely there is a moral responsibility to have some services to provide help for some who want it.'
The Age
2 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
Gareth's podcast experiment helped change lives, but his success will be short-lived
It is part of a scheme that requires pubs and clubs to direct a portion of their profits to a central fund when they are approved to increase their gaming machines, to offset the potential harms that might be generated when more pokies are introduced into the neighbourhood. CECAL has received $707,985 over five years. However, while the poker machines remain in perpetuity, the funding is finite. Wyatt was officially informed last week that the government will not renew CECAL's funding when it expires next year – a decision that he says will mean hundreds of clients lose access to gambling counselling and early intervention services. 'I wish I had better words to describe how gut-wrenching this decision is,' Wyatt said. 'I am not wanting to sound anti-gambling, however there are many who gamble beyond their needs and cannot control their addiction. The social costs I see are devastating. 'It's getting worse every year.' Poker machine players lost $717 million at venues in Canterbury Bankstown in 2023-24, more than any other local government area in NSW, according to the auditor-general's report. Wyatt has seen gambling show up as a factor in homelessness and putting more pressure on social housing, schools and hospitals. Increasingly, it is a factor in domestic violence cases. The Bankstown Women's Health Centre, which also received a grant when the Hurlstone Park Hotel was approved for more machines, will also lose funding next year. The caseworker whose salary was paid by the funding has already left for a job with greater security. 'Our funding was to address domestic violence in general, keeping in mind that gambling is a major contributor to domestic violence,' chief executive Mariam Mourad said. '[The caseworker] was always so busy.' Hurlstone Park Hotel is part of a multibillion dollar hospitality empire built by Sam Arnaout, whose company Iris Capital has casinos in the ACT and Northern Territory and three of the 20 most profitable hotels in NSW by gaming revenue in its portfolio. The harm offset scheme, known as the Community Benefit Payment Scheme, was set up in 2018 after the embarrassing exposure of donations to community groups by hotels seeking to increase their poker machine entitlements, sometimes in exchange for letters of support. A year earlier, the anti-domestic violence advocacy group White Ribbon backtracked on accepting a $50,000 donation from the Fairfield Hotel that had been contingent on the pub being allowed to increase its pokies. The chief executive of White Ribbon announced her retirement a month later. Loading The Community Benefit Payment Scheme formalised such payments and required an independent committee to select the recipients, which was intended to give community groups greater freedom to support or oppose an increase in pokies at their local venues without being conflicted by the opportunity to gain funding. A spokesman for Liquor and Gaming NSW said the payments were administered in accordance with the administration guidelines for ad hoc grants, and the beneficiaries were published online. But Wesley Mission chief executive Stu Cameron said the scheme was fundamentally flawed as there was no public tender process, little transparency and no effective evaluation of outcomes. 'This model ties important, and often desperately needed, community support to gambling harm,' Cameron said. 'We should be finding ways to reduce, not entrench, dependence on an industry that's contributing to a public health crisis across NSW.' Labor came to government promising to reduce the number of poker machines in NSW, but while the number of entitlements has decreased by 3000, the number of machines in operation has increased by around 1000 due to venues electing to use their entitlements. Gaming Minister David Harris told the Herald last month that it would take time to change the gambling landscape in NSW without many people losing their jobs, and pointed to the 2024 NSW Gambling Survey, which found just under 1 per cent of the population was experiencing high-risk gambling harm. The survey also reported that around one-fifth of respondents said they had experienced some form of gambling harm, including as a result of someone else's gambling. Wyatt believes the prevalence is 'grossly underestimated'. He had tried advertising for gambling referrals on flyers and in newspapers before he sponsored SC Playbook, and the response rate was poor. 'I knew it was an issue out there, but it's hard to get people to put their hand up and admit they have a problem. 'You can't just walk up to someone at a poker machine and say, 'I've seen you at a poker machine every day this week, are you OK?'' SC Playbook host Tim Williams remains conversational and relatable to his audience of fantasy football aficionados when he plugs CECAL's counselling services. One typical promotion began: 'If you're doing it tough on the punt and every time I mention CECAL gambling and getting a bit of help with your punting you get a few little butterflies – and not the good kind of butterflies, like the ones that go, 'Shit he could be talking about me here' – don't ignore it. It's probably … a sign that you might be losing control with your punting a little bit. Absolutely nothing wrong with that guys, you're there with thousands of other Australians who are in the same boat, but it is important you do something about it…' Loading Williams said his relationship with CECAL was 'a match made in heaven'. 'I was able to speak from experience as someone who does like a punt, fortunately enough to be in control of it, but I've had mates who have gone down a darker path,' he said. A St George Illawarra Dragons supporter who recently called into the show said he had fallen into a habit of pulling into pubs on his way home and gambling away his money when he heard the promotion for CECAL on his headphones at work. 'I just started to think about it a bit and I thought, 'I've got to get control',' he said. He wrote a message to Wyatt and then sat on it for a few days, before deciding that Wyatt's fondness for footy made him a like-minded soul, even if he backed the wrong team. 'I started seeing Gareth about a year ago now and since that time I don't think I've had any blow-ups with the missus. You can get caught up in the lying of trying to hide your gambling and once you come clean and you're free from all that, you realise how much of a strain it had on you.' Wyatt is yet to tell his clients whether CECAL will be able to continue to help them after next year. Last year, he met with Gaming Minister David Harris to lobby for more gambling counselling services. 'Our funding is a mere drop in the ocean compared to what the government is taking in through gambling revenue,' he said. 'If governments are going to take truckloads of money out of communities, then surely there is a moral responsibility to have some services to provide help for some who want it.'
Daily Mail
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
From poster boy to pariah: How Andrew O'Keefe almost killed the White Ribbon cause - and its CURSE of celebrity ambassador endorsements
It's hard now to believe disgraced gameshow host Andrew O'Keefe was once a celebrated White Ribbon ambassador, at the forefront of its fight to end violence against women. He would often be photographed with the movement's emblem pinned to his jacket, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2017 for his work with them, adding its distinctive stud to the same lapel. But by the time O'Keefe was first accused of assaulting a woman in 2021, he and White Ribbon had already parted ways, and it was revealed this week the shamed TV star had finally handed back his AM last month. With the 53-year-old's string of court cases over - his last appearance was in February - the onetime host of Deal or No Deal and The Chase Australia has given up wearing suits. It's been a long time since he needed a tuxedo. These days, O'Keefe can be spotted hanging around Sydney 's eastern suburbs in one of his lurid casual outfits, smoking a cigarette and doing little else. O'Keefe says he has once and for all been able to give up the drugs that fuelled his appalling conduct and even White Ribbon, which he once chaired, wishes him well. White Ribbon has also learned from its mistake using O'Keefe to push its message and has completely abandoned using celebrities as ambassadors, according to its CEO. 'White Ribbon Australia is no longer reliant on public figures or ambassadors,' Merinda March said. 'That model failed us, and more importantly, it failed the cause. Real change doesn't come from celebrity endorsement.' The notion that all publicity is good publicity clearly doesn't apply when you're trying to stop men being violent towards women. Among the entries on his rap sheet, O'Keefe was found guilty in January last year of a 'violent and degrading' assault on a woman he had called a 'lying dog' and a 'c***'. He was convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and contravening an AVO, and placed on an 18-month community corrections order. In October, Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge sentenced O'Keefe to another 30-month community corrections order for breaching an AVO. O'Keefe had previously avoided convictions for assault and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in June 2021, when those charges were dealt with under mental health provisions of the law. He also faced six charges after he allegedly punched, kicked and choked another woman in January 2022, but by the time the matter was heard, the alleged victim had left the country. Having pleaded not guilty - claiming he acted in self-defence - charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and choking were withdrawn in February 2023. Back in 2014, when O'Keefe was host of Weekend Sunrise, he told the Daily Telegraph he was on a mission to change men's attitudes about violence towards women. O'Keefe particularly encouraged men not to speak in a way that denigrated the opposite sex and to challenge those who do. 'It's a really simple thing on paper to say, it's really hard to do in practice,' he said. 'But having done it myself, you get nothing but kudos from mates when you do.' O'Keefe's long prior association with White Ribbon was raised almost every time he was arrested and continued to do its reputation no good. But he was not the only man to cause the movement embarrassment after being made an ambassador, just its highest-profile bad choice. Ballarat man Jon Seccull, a former prison officer who had been a White Ribbon ambassador, was arrested in 2017 and charged with sexually abusing his wife between 2014 and 2015. He was found guilty in 2023 of three counts of rape and one of threatening behaviour and in 2024, was jailed for a minimum six years and 10 months. In 2015, psychiatrist and White Ribbon ambassador Tanveer Ahmed wrote a column for The Australian newspaper in which he blamed violence against women in part on 'male disempowerment'. By the time O'Keefe was first accused of assaulting a woman in 2021, he and White Ribbon had parted ways. He is pictured at the 2006 Logies with singer and actor Natalie Bassingthwaighte Ahmed, who wrote that discussion about domestic violence debate focused on 'male villainy… and a cult of victimhood', was not asked to stand down from his White Ribbon role but resigned voluntarily. Seven months later, NRL great and former White Ribbon Day ambassador Hazem El Masri was charged with assaulting his wife, but a year later was completely cleared. In 2018, former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery resigned as chair of the White Ribbon board after he made comments about baby killer Keli Lane's sex life on the ABC. Later that year, Luke Foley resigned as NSW Labor leader and was stripped of his White Ribbon ambassadorship after being accused of having put his hand down a female ABC journalist's underpants in 2016. Onetime federal MP and Australian Rules great Phil Cleary has campaigned to stop male violence against women since his sister Vicki was murdered in 1987 by an ex-partner. Cleary got to know O'Keefe through White Ribbon, and in January he told Daily Mail Australia the fallen presenter should return his AM if he really wanted to show remorse. On Monday, it was revealed O'Keefe had finally done exactly that, and Governor-General Sam Mostyn had accepted his resignation of the award with effect from June 4. The next day, White Ribbon Australia issued a press release reiterating its association with O'Keefe had ended in 2019 and stating it 'denounces, in the strongest possible terms, Mr O'Keefe's actions and violence against women'. White Ribbon Australia was established in 2007, went into voluntary liquidation in 2019 with debts of $840,000 and was resurrected under the stewardship of community services provider Communicare the following year. CEO Merinda March said White Ribbon's past association with O'Keefe and 'other former ambassadors whose actions have come under public scrutiny' had prompted a 'fundamental shift' in its approach to ending violence against women. 'Andrew O'Keefe's actions are deeply distressing to Australians who support our organisation's aims to end violence against women,' Ms March said. 'Mr O'Keefe was White Ribbon Australia's former chair, and a founding ambassador, and his appointment to these positions has been harmful to the values and reputation of our organisation.' Ms March said 'real change' had to come from 'everyday men - dads, brothers, mates, co-workers and the women who support and influence them'. Addressing the scourge of domestic violence in Australia would require 'having honest conversations, challenging harmful behaviours, and taking responsibility'. 'That is where the movement lives now, and that is where our focus must stay,' Ms March said. White Ribbon's press release ended by acknowledging the main victim of O'Keefe's offending and with a final note of hope for the future. It added: 'We also wish him well in his journey towards recovery and healing.'
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
How to get the Pink and White Ribbon in Deltarune?
(Image via Toby Fox) The Twin Ribbon in Deltarune is a powerful accessory that combines Pink and White Ribbons. It offers some valuable boosts to stats. But to obtain it is not that straightforward. Players must first explore some areas off the main path to find both ribbons in separate chapters. Once found, they are to be fused. Here is how to get each Ribbon and combine them for an ultimate upgrade. How to get White Ribbon in Deltarune? Deltarune Chapter 1 White Ribbon quest begins in the Field area. The ribbon can be found hidden in the area. After navigating a puzzle that involves a clock for disabling the dangerous spike trap on the floor, reach the section that features the save point near the signpost. Look carefully, below there is a distinctive red treasure chest that sits just out of reach. How To Get White Ribbon in Deltarune(EASY) To reach the chest, continue downward along the path. As you hit a crossroads just after, take a path that leads left. The detour will lead you directly to the chest. Open it to claim pristine White Ribbon, the solid early-game defensive item, for collection. It is quite easy to miss. So, keep an eye out for the branching paths. How to get Pink Ribbon in Deltarune? Deltarune Chapters 1 and 2 - All Bosses Pacifist - Hitless Deltarune Chapter 2 Pink Ribbon remains hidden in Cyber City. To get it, progress through the Queen's Mansion until you navigate past the initial alleyway and notorious tricky mouse puzzle room. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo Soon you will also enter the new zone that's patrolled by the 2 Ambyu-Lances and the traffic cones. Do not rush past mechanical guards. Choose to head to the very bottom-left section of the screen instead. Tucked away there is the cleverly concealed alcove. It is easy to be missed if you are not exploring thoroughly. There, venture inside a hidden nook to discover one another treasure chest. Open the same, and there you will find a bright Pink Ribbon. Collect it and remember to keep it safely as both the ribbons are required to have safer future adventures. How to combine Pink and White Ribbon? Once you have collected both the ribbons, return to Castle Town after Chapter 2. Then, visit Top Bakery and speak to Malius. He will offer item fusion. Select the ribbons for creating Deltarune Twin Ribbon. The upgraded accessory will boost defense and will also help in expanding the graze area. It makes it quite invaluable for the TP generation. Just remember, it cannot be equipped on Susie. The future chapters might tweak the effectiveness of the ribbon. Still, it is one of the must-haves for either playthrough.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Licence refused for Halifax lap dancing club
A lap dancing club in a West Yorkshire town has been refused a licence to operate because of concerns about it being close to a church and a women's Council turned down the latest annual application for a sex entertainment venue licence for La Salsa on Silver Street in Joe Thompson said the town centre had "changed significantly" and he believed the venue was inappropriate for the owner Reza Shahsavar told the council he would appeal the decision. The club's licence was previously refused in 2018 but Mr Shahsavar appealed and councillors granted it in early the past, White Ribbon, a national charity based in Calderdale that works to prevent violence against women and girls, also opposed the club's Mr Shahsavar said the club had operated at the premises "without incident" for 21 council received three objections to the latest application, with one raising safety concerns about the club's clientele "hanging around in the area." Thompson highlighted changes to the area near the club, including a new block of 122 flats and the conversion of the former Atik nightclub into a place of worship."I would also consider that the area is becoming increasingly residential," he Shahsavar said the club's clients did not "hang around the locality" and added that the club had security staff and CCTV cameras. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
