2016-11-21
Members statement: On Saturday a group of 20 community members took action against the pokies at the Moreland Hotel in Brunswick. The group entered the venue and wrapped the poker machines in hazmat tape to highlight the fact that these machines are a hazard to the community, as pokies are known to lead to crime, job loss, domestic violence, family breakdown, depression and suicide.
I want to commend the Brunswick community for their peaceful and powerful protest and for sending a clear message to the Labor government that they do not want dodgy, deceptive and damaging poker machines in their community. I know this kind of protest is going to be the first of many, and there are groups of concerned community members all over Melbourne who are organising themselves as we speak.
People are fed up with this state government pretending there is not a problem and putting profits before people. These machines are deliberately addictive and misleading, and they are rigged so the house always wins at the end of the day. Victorians are being cheated out of $2.6 billion per year, and that is money that is not being spent in local businesses.
The government needs to urgently put sensible measures in place to stop the pokies pain. We need to reform the machines so they are not deliberately deceptive and addictive. We need to implement $1 bet limits so people cannot lose $1000 an hour on these machines, and we need to give local councils more control over the number of poker machines in their areas.
Minister Kairouz and Premier Andrews need to start listening to the community and urgently take action to stop pokies pain.