It was standing room only as more than a thousand people crowded into South Tweed Sports Club on Tuesday for a Public Rally against the Federal Government’s planned mandatory pre-commitment tech-nology on all poker machines across Australia.
Clubs across Australia are worried the new technology could harm the club industry. In Richmond alone, there 30 clubs with 1561 employees and 139,720 club members, they provide more than $44,174,108 in local wages.
Speaking after the rally, Tweed Heads Bowls Club General Manager Ross Bailey described the event as “passionate”.
“I’m very heartened by the support (for the clubs),” he said.
“It will send a really positive message about how upset the local people are, how passionate they are to see that the clubs are not harmed.”
Mr Bailey said the meeting was addressed, not just by club spokesmen, but also by those who will be indirectly affected, including small business, entertainers and charity groups.
“The whole Tweed economy could collapse without the clubs,” he said.
Speakers included Twin Towns Services Club General Manager Rob Smith, Murwillumbah RSL Sub Branch president and director of the Murwillumbah Services Club Derek Sims, NSW Business Chamber Regional Manager John Murray, Entertainer Greg Doolan, Director of the Tweed Valley Early Childhood Intervention Service Judith Terkelsen, Sandy Rogers from the Kids in Need Association, Twin Towns employee Mark Williams, Chairman of ClubsNSW and Clubs Australia Peter Newell, Federal Member for Moncrieff Steven Ciobo and Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliot.
“Justine did receive a bit of heckling,” Mr Williams said.
Before the rally, Elliot said she valued the role that local Clubs and Pubs play in the community.
“I attend many functions at our local Clubs and know the great work they do,” she said.
“They provide so many activities that bring us together and build the bonds of our community.
“Having a flutter on the pokies is a part of this, and it’s not a bad part. But, when I meet the people whose lives have been ruined by problem gambling, I know that this is an issue for our community that we cannot ignore.
“The Gillard Government is proposing the use of pre commitment technology in Pubs and Clubs around the country. Pre-commitment uses a card like those loyalty cards so many of us already have from many clubs and businesses. A Pre-commitment card will give people a tool to control how much they want to spend on the pokies by allowing people to set their own limit on how much money they can afford to lose before they sit down at a poker machine.
“We all know that problem gambling can ruin lives. Often that’s money that isn’t being spent on food, paying the bills, or paying the rent or the mortgage.
“I will continue to meet with Club representatives and locals so that, together, we can ensure a strong and vibrant club industry continues, while creating a safe gambling environment.”
Clubs Australia Executive Director Anthony Ball said the turnout was remarkable and had been organised in just one week.
“The atmosphere at the Club was electric. I have been to political rallies with 15,000 people and I can honestly say I have never seen anything like what we saw at South Tweed Sports,” he said.
“There wouldn’t be a politician anywhere in Australia that wouldn’t have been moved by what they heard and saw. Ordinary Australians, people of all ages, people who were truly angry that their club is now facing a multi-million dollar bill for technology that will most likely send them broke.
“We heard how clubs support the RSL, how clubs support live entertainment, how clubs generate $75 million for local small businesses. All this is now in grave danger of being stolen from the people of the Tweed simply because the Prime Minister needs the vote of the Independent MP Andrew Wilkie.
“Arguably the most compelling moment of the rally was a speech by a club employee who spoke of his experience with addiction. He explained to the audience that a problem gambler will not be helped by a mandatory pre-commitment system because the system offers nothing in the way of education, counselling and support.
“I can only hope Justine Elliot was listening because, in just a few minutes, he identified exactly why the Federal Government’s licence to punt is destined to fail in its supposed intention of reducing problem gambling.
“Unfortunately, by the time the proof is on the table that this technology is a multi-billion dollar lemon, the local club industry will have been decimated, with no way of turning back the clock,” he said.
