The Jacqui Lambie Network has joined Labor and the Greens in adopting an anti-poker machine policy, leaving the Liberals as the only party supporting the status quo.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ms Lambie resigned from the Senate late in 2017 after a Fairfax Media report led to her revealing she held British citizenship, making her ineligible to sit in Parliament.
But since her exit from Canberra, Ms Lambie has been on the hustings here in Tasmania, announcing JLN candidates for the looming state election.
On Thursday, a new ReachTEL poll showed 9.2 per cent of Bass voters intended to use their first preference votes on JLN candidates.
Now, Ms Lambie has released her party’s first policy – to remove pokies from pubs and clubs and confine them to the state’s two casinos.
However, the JLN policy diverges from Labor’s by ruling out offering compensation to venues losing their pokies.
“Poker machines are programmed with features that are designed to create an addiction,” Ms Lambie said.
“The industry knows this, and profits from this.
“This is an opportunity to make our pubs and clubs family friendly and for them to become important parts of their communities once again.”
Meanwhile, Federal Group is facing a backlash for its campaign against Labor’s policy to remove pokies from pubs and clubs by 2023, with the state’s most prominent pokies opponent saying it would actually “damage” the company’s brand.
On Friday, Federal Group launched a “staff-initiated” campaign, in an effort to persuade Tasmanians that Labor’s policy would put many jobs at risk.
The campaign advertisements will be rolled out via social media, TV, radio and print media in the weeks prior to the state election.
Historian James Boyce said employees in Federal Group’s casinos would not be affected should pokies be removed from pubs and clubs.
Dr Boyce said Federal Group chief executive Greg Farrell was “either misleading his workers or he’s got a highly irresponsible business model”.
Federal Group’s Daniel Hanna rubbished claims that the company had been briefed on the contents of the Social and Economic Impact Study of Gambling in Tasmania before it was released.
“This is a desperate stunt by Labor and James Boyce to try to stop our people from having their voices heard on the day of their campaign launch,” Dr Hanna said.