The outcome of yesterday’s assembly debate on gambling reform was saddening and disheartening for all those fighting to reduce the harm inflicted on Canberrans by poker machines; through increased crime; financial distress; mental health impacts and suicidality.

Despite a host of commitments in the Parliamentary Agreement, the only one of a range of safeguarding measures achieved in the entire four years of this term has been a modest reduction in the number of EGMs licenses that will have a meaningless impact on actually reducing harm to the community. This represents a series of broken promises on gambling reform from the government.

CGRA has concluded that the Canberra community has been poorly served by both major parties – Liberal and Labor – throughout this parliamentary term.

The Liberal Party openly supports the status quo: an unsafe and poorly regulated gambling industry, the proliferation of poker machines and therefore the associated increase in crime, domestic violence and poor mental and physical health impacts they generate.

Meanwhile, the past four years of paralysis was summed up on Thursday when Labor failed to move the motion it promised, meaning there would be no substantive change before the election. Labor has handed another victory to the gambling industry and big Clubs lobby.  

Statement from Kate Seselja, Co-Chair of Canberra Gambling Reform Alliance.

This year Labor has centered its harm reduction ‘efforts’ on a 20-year plan to reduce the number of poker machines to 1,000. This plan had been on the table for roughly half a year going into the final session of the Legislative Assembly.

Thursday was a complete farce in the Assembly in which Labor did not move its promised centre-piece reform. Labor blamed its failure to move their own amendment on a lack of agreement between the political parties. But the Greens’ support for a substantial reduction in EGM licenses has been publicly known for over a month. Surely no one seriously believes that explanation. The simplest explanation is that Labor got the outcome it always intended – product differentiation against the Greens at the election.

But if Labor aren’t willing to act to deliver on their reform promises when given the opportunity by the Greens on Thursday because of a preference for short-term political expediency, can voters really trust them to act in the public interest during the next parliament either?

CGRA wants Labor’s spokesperson on gambling reform to urgently explain to constituents how we can trust them with safeguarding Canberrans beyond the election.