Call for freeze on extra pokies
The State Government has been accused of washing its hands of responsibility for dealing with Queensland's gambling-related problems by vowing to lock up problem-gambling parents who abandon their children.
Queensland Shadow Treasurer Bruce Flegg and Shadow Child Safety Minister Jann Stuckey said simply locking up problem-gambler parents for a few years was ill conceived policy that would further marginalise child victims.
Dr Flegg said poker machine revenue had swelled since the mid-1990s - quadrupling from $127 million in 1993/94 to an expected windfall of $548 million in poker machine revenue to the state government this year.
On the Coast, Nambour RSL in February applied for 60 new poker machines
The Queensland Coalition has called for a moratorium on extra poker machine licences.
Dr Flegg and Mrs Stuckey said the government needed to provide a better approach for dealing with gambling addicted parents and their neglected families.
"There is growing evidence that increased accessibility to poker machines led to higher levels of gambling within communities," he said.
"It is clear there are more silent victims who can't put a dent in good news stories about comparatively few jackpot winners, community gambling fund beneficiaries - and a windfall in state gambling revenue."
"Children are abandoned in casino car parks. Problem gamblers are stealing to fund their addiction. Many problem gamblers are suicidal.
"And I've even seen an old war widow put her home through the poker machine in ten cent coins," Dr Flegg said.
"There are about 16,000 problem gamblers in Queensland and a further 60,000 people who just don't know when to stop. And this addictive compulsion means many of their families are neglected."
Mrs Stuckey said the overall crime figures had jumped 32 per cent in just one year at Queensland's four casinos, also evidences a problem that needed to be fixed - but not at further cost to already-neglected families.
"Structured and coordinated interventions with appropriate counselling, as well as quarantining welfare payments to gambling-addicted parents, could ensure children are provided with adequate food, education and shelter, as well as better parenting," she said.
Mrs Stuckey said parental neglect that endangered the lives of children was more appropriately dealt with by section 326 of the Criminal Code (endangering the life of children by exposure) as a last resort - but this should be extended to include children over the age of seven and include leaving a child in a car unattended.
A couple of years ago I saw figures quoted by a Tab representative saying that on average Australian spending on gambling had moved from $2 a day to $16 a day over the previous 10 years.
However the TAB figure had only moved from $1.80 per day to just over $2 a day of that total $16.
We could hazard a guess where the other increase of $14 a day is going.
So just what percentage of that is going into the governments consolidated revenue.
Apparently the pokie money props up sporting clubs.
Alternatively if about 15 poker machines are bringing in $500,000 per year; then how much would the surf clubs, Noosa, Sunshine Beach, Coolum, Maroochydore, Alex, Mooloolabah, Kawana, Kings Beach etc be bringing in in total.
One would be entitled to ask why we are asked to donate to the lifesavers at traffic lights at the start of each season.
Now also take into account profits from alcohol and the well patroned, absolute beach front restauraunts.
Ratepayers are entitled to ask the Sunshine Coast Regional Council why WE, are paying for professional lifeguard services. If the State or Federal goverments won't do anything meaningfull about problem gambling the SCRC should take up the baton.
And while you're at it ask Bob Abott why membership for one club (particularly Mooloolaba ) does not apply across all Lifesaving Clubs within OUR community .......
after all it is on OUR prime beachfront land that these clubs are running restaurants , alcohol and gambling then all the while putting the donations tin under our nose at the traffic lights.
Might it be time for a new rates levy on these premises or do they even pay rates ?
Time for pokies to show how much the person deposits how much is won and how much is spent - not just a running total of the credits available, but a meaningful display to show the total credits won and credits lost so that the person playing can realise that they've lost a lot more than just the $20 or $100 they put in.
Yangzhou News Network (Reporter Ding Yun) yesterday afternoon, the city s food and drug supervision held in drug testing skills competition concluded the awards ceremony, a grand recognition of superior skills drugs test units and advanced individuals. Vice Mayor Wen Road to attend the meeting and delivered a speech.
In June this year, the city held the first drugs test skills contest, after the actual examination and comprehensive assessment, Lee Yun-reliance, Shujingyi won two comrades, May 1 Labor Medal Yangzhou City honorary title of Li-reliance, Shujingyi, Tian Jing won three comrades of technical experts in Yangzhou City honorary title of Yin Ming, and other three comrades won the elite athletes -
Fitch title. Among them, Li Yun-reliance, Shujingyi, Tian Jing, and other representatives of three players in Yangzhou City to participate in the province skills competition drugs test, and achieved good results in the third group.
