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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-08-06 Daily Xml
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Poker Machines

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:37): Before I commence my matter of interest, I would like to suggest that some of the remarks made by the Hon. Kyam Maher about me and the Xenophon team were factually incorrect and deserve a retraction from the honourable member.

Having said that, I rise today to speak about the 20th anniversary of pokies in South Australia. Friday 25 July was a very sad day for South Australia, as it marked 20 years of pokies in the state. The story of pokies in South Australia started in 1992 when the Gaming Machines Bill was introduced as a private member's bill by treasurer Frank Blevins. After intensive lobbying from the gaming machine manufacturers and the AHA, the bill was passed and then on 25 July 1994, the bells of the first pokies in South Australia started ringing, and they have been constantly ringing and flashing ever since.

In 20 years, $12.2 billion has been poured into these machines by the punters, which peaked at a whopping $916 million in gaming revenue in 2004. Advocates for pokies argued that their introduction would lead to job creation and help finance entertainment and community projects. However, if the money that was spent on pokies—

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Darley, if I could just have one second. The cameramen up there, I have been watching you and you have had your cameras in all sorts of directions. You know the rules are that you only put the camera on someone who is standing, so I would hate to see tonight on the news film of someone who is sitting in their chair. I thought you were just testing and getting ready for some sort of speech, so bear that in mind, thanks. The Hon. Mr Darley.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: Advocates for pokies argued that their introduction would lead to job creation and help finance entertainment and community projects. However, if the money spent on pokies was directed to other sectors, which have a better employment multiplier, the jobs growth would be far greater. It is estimated that, for every extra $1 million, pokies create two jobs, whereas other sectors, such as retail, would create over 20 new jobs.

The effect of pokies was seen almost immediately. Many retailers reported an almost immediate downturn in business, with welfare agencies reporting an increase in people requiring assistance. The number of problem gamblers increased tenfold in five years from 2,000 in 1996 to 20,000 in 2001. Of these, it is estimated that 80 per cent of problem gambling addictions are directly related to pokies.

Women especially have paid a big price for pokies. Prior to 1994 the number of female problem gamblers was significantly lower than males. These numbers soon changed, with a marked increase in female problem gamblers. It is estimated that, of female inmates, approximately one-third are in prison due to a relationship with problem gambling. It is unfortunate that most victims of problem gambling are also vulnerable, low-income earners, who are often targeted by strategic gaming machine placement.

Over the past 20 years the government has reaped $4.7 billion in taxes from pokies. Ten years ago the state government pledged to reduce the number of poker machines by 3,000 and double the taxpayer contributions to the Gamblers Rehabilitation Fund. However, it has been unable to fulfil its commitments on both these targets. The government has been quite happy to accept money from this revenue stream, often at a cost to problem gamblers, and although the Premier himself says that he recognises that the introduction of poker machines has materially contributed to the rise of problem gambling over the years, the measures taken to mitigate the damage caused by pokies have been negligible, especially when compared with the returns.

The AHA boasts about the $2 million contribution it made to the Gamblers Rehabilitation Fund last year. However, this represents less than half a per cent of pokies profits in 2013-14—not even half of 1 per cent. It is worthwhile remembering that, whilst $731 million was spent on the pokies last year, the cost is much more. This figure does not include the financial cost of rehabilitation, incarceration or incredible social costs of problem gambling. It does not account for the fact that, for every problem gambler, the lives of at least seven others are also adversely affected. The cost of families losing their homes or loved ones to gambling addiction is impossible to calculate.

On 25 July my colleague, Senator Xenophon, announced that he would be introducing a bill into federal parliament for a plebiscite so that voters could indicate whether they would like $1 maximum bets on pokies. In conjunction with this I will be pushing to have pokies phased out of pubs in the next few years.

Time expired.

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