Latest news with #harmminimisation
ABC News
28-07-2025
- 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
25-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Tasmania won't proceed with cashless pokies card without 'national approach', premier says
Mandatory pre-commitment cards for poker machine players won't be introduced in Tasmania unless other states and territories agree to a national approach on the issue, Premier Jeremy Rockliff says. The Liberal government first announced plans for the "nation-leading" harm-minimisation measure in 2022. The cashless cards would have capped losses at $100 per day or $5,000 per year. The scheme was originally expected to be implemented by the end of 2024. But in February last year, the government revealed it would not be in place until the end of 2025. Then, in November last year, Mr Rockliff announced an indefinite pause, citing the complexity and cost of putting the scheme into place. Mr Rockliff, who is facing an election next month, has now gone further, saying the policy will not be implemented unless other jurisdictions support an Australia-wide scheme. "In the meantime, we recognise the importance of continuing with harm minimisation, such as third-party exclusion, such as facial technology." Victoria recently delayed the rollout of its own version of a pre-commitment card scheme, while New South Wales is still considering the best way to implement a cashless system. Mr Rockliff said it would be "very sensible" for all jurisdictions to work together. "We are keeping a close eye on other states, but what will be most effective is a national approach in a policy sense, and implementation sense in this issue." Labor leader Dean Winter, who is hoping to become premier after the July 19 election, said his party would be taking a similar approach. "We'll look at what happens in other states and territories, but we won't be going first," Mr Winter said. The decision not to forge ahead with the policy has been criticised by advocates of the cashless card system. "It's disappointing to hear the premier saying that they'll sit back and wait to see what other states do on a cashless gaming card," Greens candidate for Bass, Cecily Rosol, said. "We are missing the chance to help people now and to provide support and to address the problem of gambling in Tasmania. "Tasmania had the opportunity to be nation-leading with this card and we've thrown that opportunity away." Independent candidate for Clark, Kristie Johnston, said the poker machine industry was being prioritised ahead of people impacted by gambling addiction. She urged both major parties to reverse their current stance and introduce mandatory pre-commitment cards during the first 12 months of the next government.
SBS Australia
18-06-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
Victoria to open Australia's second permanent pill testing site
The service will offer testing for most substances - and act as an early detection point for authorities on the lookout for highly dangerous synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and Nitazenes, which can be mixed with other drugs. The decision puts Victoria in a unique position on drug policy, as Australia's states and territories grapple with how to balance harm minimisation with increasingly tough law and order approaches. Listen to the full story on our podcast. SBS Japanese 18/06/2025 06:48 Listen to SBS Japanese Audio on Tue, Thu and Fri from 1pm on SBS 3. Replays from 10pm on Tue, Thu and Sat on SBS1. Listen to past stories from our podcast. Download the free SBS Audio App and don't forget to visit SBS Japanese Facebook and Instagram page!
ABC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
NSW failing to reduce gambling harm from pokies, auditor-general's report shows
A leading charity has described the system governing poker machines in New South Wales as "broken" in the wake of a damning auditor-general's report into the effectiveness of gaming machine regulations. NSW Auditor-General Bola Oyetunji has tabled a performance audit into the regulation of gaming machines at state parliament. The report revealed state agencies Liquor and Gaming NSW and the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) had failed to focus its gaming strategy on harm minimisation. It went on to say: "The Department has developed a regulatory strategy that sets out its priorities clearly and has communicated this to stakeholders. "However, the strategy does not have a sufficient focus on the areas that are considered high-risk for gambling harm and does not set any targets for reducing harm associated with gaming machines. "Gaming machine losses and the social costs of gambling harm continue to be disproportionately concentrated in socio-economically disadvantaged communities." Wesley Mission chief executive officer Reverend Stu Cameron said the audit's findings were of no surprise. "While we did not need an audit to know the system is broken, as frontline services have been saying this for years, now it is in black and white," Reverend Cameron said. The audit's findings include: The audit report also found the state had significantly more poker machines than all other Australian jurisdictions combined, despite legislative provisions that aim to reduce the number of machines. The audit report said there were only 12 gambling inspectors and all were based in Sydney. "While most of the regular inspections are done in Greater Sydney, nine of the 10 suburbs with the highest number of people accessing GambleAware services in 2023-24 were located outside Greater Sydney," it stated. Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said people were promised action by Mr Minns when he came into power. "In Western Sydney, entire salaries are disappearing into poker machines, Premier Chris Minns and Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris are nowhere to be found," Mr Speakman said. He added that it went deeper than "stopping people from having a flutter". "The auditor-general's report showed harm is rising, inspections are not happening, and Labor has broken every promise it made," he said. Greens MP and spokesperson for gambling harm reduction Cate Faehrmann said the report showed regional areas, including Wollongong and Newcastle were not being given the proper attention. She said the government was failing in its regulatory duty to reduce harm. "They are tinkering around the edges rather than genuine measures to reduce gambling harm," he said. "Entire regions could go months or years without a single inspection." NSW Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris has welcomed the report, with the relevant agencies "accepting its recommendations", but blamed the previous Coalition government. "The report looked at the period 2019 to 2024, which was largely under the former Coalition government." He said reiterated the government's commitment to harm minimisation, saying it had already implemented a number of initiatives. Reverend Cameron said the audit showed a public health crisis. "If people were being harmed this badly by alcohol, drugs or unsafe roads, action would be swift. This is a public health crisis and it needs to be treated as such."
