The major parties are being accused of being too close to the poker machine industry, after Labor agreed to side with the government on repealing the first national poker machine reform laws.
(Transcript from World News Australia Radio)
The laws could be repealed as early as tomorrow after Labor agreed to support the changes proposed by the Coalition, which effectively unwind Labor's measures to reduce harm from gambling.
The laws include ATM withdrawal limits at clubs and a trial of pre-commitment technology.
The changes have already passed through the House of Representatives and are now before the Senate.
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The Gillard government reforms included a trial of pre-commitment technology for poker machines in the ACT.
This technology can be used to require players to set the amount of money they are prepared to lose before playing.
Last year, the federal parliament passed watered-down* measures aimed at curbing problem gambling after two years of vocal opposition from the clubs lobby.
However, during the election the Coalition pledged to repeal the legislation altogether.
Labor has now agreed to support the move.
Labor frontbencher Claire Moore says the opposition has offered qualified support for the government's bill, which includes a number of other miscellaneous changes to community and welfare programs.
Senator Moore says, while Labor supports the repeal, it still wants the bill to ensure that pokie venues in any state or Territory are able to hold voluntary pre-commitment trials.
However, anti-gambling campaigner, Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie says the move is a shocking betrayal of the Australian community.
Mr Wilke says the Labor party is weak and uncaring, and no better than the Liberals, when it comes to gambling reform.
"They talk about compassion and values but when they are offered the opportunity to defend something that helps people, a great many people, they turn away. And I tell you what. They are on the take. And the fact is over recent years the poker machine industry has donated millions of dollars to the Labor party, to the Liberal party and other parties. And I tell you what. It's turned out to be a ptretty good investment for them. They are seeing the return on that investment at the moment in the 44th parliament."
Repealing the laws will also dismantle plans for a national gambling regulator, and remove the two levies on the gambling industry intended to fund it.
It will also scrap a requirement that poker machine screens be fitted with flashing alerts on the dangers of gambling addiction.
Both the imposition of ATM limits and fitting of machines with pre-commitment technology were recommendations made by the Productivity Commission in its 2010 report into Australia's gambling industry.
Among the Commission's findings was that more than 40 per cent of poker machine revenue in Australia is drawn from problem gamblers.
Anti-gambling campaigner Tim Costello says the damage done by poker machines is enormous.
"Australia has the highest per capita gambling problems anywhere in the world by a long stretch. So these very mild reforms. Limits on ATMs of $250, warning signals just like tobacco warnings on Tobacco pacs, ciggarette pacs, a abilit to actually set a limit, a voluntary limit now being pulled away. Why? Because both sides are captured by the pokies lobby."
The coalition plans to set up an industry advisory council made up of club and gaming venue operators that will meet quarterly and advise on support for problem gamblers.
Anti-pokies politician Senator Nick Xenophon says that's outrageous.
He wants to impose a maximum one dollar limit on individual bets and limit losses to 120 dollars an hour.
"Poker machine policy is a litmus test of good government. If a government is willing to rake in taxes off the back of the vulnerable and addicted. And when we know it's just not family breakups, it's suicides, it's the devastation is causes across the community then there's something seriously wrong. let's get this in perspective. According to the Productivity Commission over 100 thousand severe problem gamblers, almost 300 thousand people well on the way to becoming a pathalogical problem gambler. This is a big issue around the country."
Senator Xenophon says he'll be pushing parliament to approve a plebiscite for tough action on problem gambling.
He says the only way to bypass the power of the poker machine lobby is to go directly to the voting public.
