The fallout of a critical report on gambling in Tasmania spilled over into Wednesday, as both the major parties attempted to utilise the data to bolster their own arguments around poker machines.
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The state government commissioned ACIL Allen Consulting, Deakin University, Central Queensland University and the Social Research Centre to compile the latest Social and Economic Impact Study of Gambling in Tasmania, which is released every three years.
It comes a week after the government outlined its gaming policy, which would end the Federal Group’s monopoly on pokies and implement an individual licence model for venues post-2023.
In December, Labor made the shock announcement that it would completely remove pokies from pubs and clubs by 2023, sparking outcry from the industry.
The SEIS report showed that real expenditure on pokies has continued to trend downwards in the state, having reduced from $263 million in 2008-09 to $191 million in 2015-16.
It also found that 0.6 per cent of Tasmanians were problem gamblers, a 0.1 per cent increase on the previous SEIS figure.
But the report appeared to contradict pro-pokies campaigners’ claims that more than 5000 jobs could be at risk under Labor’s policy – it showed there were only 317 full-time equivalent poker machine industry workers in pubs and clubs with pokies.
Treasurer Peter Gutwein said the jobs figure touted by industry did not just relate to FTEs, but to part-time and casual employees, too.
“The number of jobs that would be affected would be in the thousands,” he said.
“If you take poker machines out of a pub or club in a regional area and that business closes, then that flows on to not just the other employees in the pub, it flows on to the suppliers that provide food, that provide other services.”
Mr Gutwein reiterated that he had been informed on Saturday that Treasury had received the report on December 22.
But Opposition finance spokesman Scott Bacon questioned the timing of the report’s release, as well as the circumstances around it.
“Peter Gutwein … says he didn’t know about the existence of the report for three weeks,” Mr Bacon said.
“There’s no doubt that Peter Gutwein wants to ignore the damage being done by poker machines here in Tasmania.”
Mr Bacon said Labor’s policy would create a minimum of 180 jobs and ensure roughly $110 million a year went back to communities.
Greens gaming spokeswoman Andrea Dawkins said the SEIS report proved that “the public have been misled on the amount of jobs [at risk]”.
Publican takes a stand
“If you pull them out, it would decimate the club.”
That is Ravenswood Over 50s bar director Nik Djonlija’s view on Labor’s policy to remove poker machines from pubs and clubs by 2023.
He believes that two full-time workers would “have to go”, as well as some casual staff, if his club was without pokies.
“The club would take a very big hit,” Mr Djonlija said.
Federal Group executive general manager of corporate affairs Daniel Hanna said the problems posed by pokies were “sometimes … overblown”.
“Trying to overblow the problem, we think, is being done for political reasons,” he said.
But Anglicare’s Social Action and Research Centre manager Meg Webb said pokies had “had their day”.
“Communities will no longer tolerate the harm caused by machines designed for addiction and [that are] rigged to win,” she said.
“Tasmanians are ready to confine poker machines to casinos.”