[Greens-Media] Govt should reverse decision to close Illawarra and Shoalhaven problem gambling service

[Lee Rhiannon]

MEDIA RELEASE - 10 April 2007


Govt should reverse decision to close Illawarra and Shoalhaven problem gambling service 
 
Greens MP and gambling spokesperson, Lee Rhiannon has called on the new NSW Minister for Health, Ms Reba Meagher, to reverse a decision to close a problem gambling service run by the former Illawarra area health service. 
 
"Gambling is big business for the NSW government and the people feeling its bite are being left out in the cold by the proposed closure of this problem gambling service at the end of June," Ms Rhiannon said. 
 
"The Greens will write to the Minister for Health and pursue the closure issue when Parliament next resumes in May.
 
"The Iemma government is happy to pocket millions of dollars in political donations from clubs, pubs and gaming companies and hand out generous tax breaks to the industry and then shut the Illawarra's one publicly run problem gambling service.
 
"The government is turning a blind eye to the needs of people with gambling problems and their families in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven. 
 
"People living in the Illawarra and the Shoalhaven who desperately need help with problem gambling will be forced after June to rely on one church run service. 

"The refusal of the former Illawarra Area Health Service to meet with community members is disappointing. 
 
"Taking a public health approach to problem gambling, as now occurs in Queensland and New Zealand, offers people a holistic approach to their illness.
 
"The service facing closure gives people a doorway to other services run by NSW Health and an evidenced based approach to problem gambling. 
 
"The government faces a severe conflict of interest in being both the regulator of gambling and the beneficiary of millions of dollars from donations and taxes.

"The major parties' approach to gambling is hamstrung by the money they receive from this very lucrative business.

"The Greens call on the newly elected Iemma government to reverse this decision. The government should also stop taking donations from the hotel, club and gaming industry," Ms Rhiannon said. 

Contact:  Greens MP Lee Rhiannon 9230 3551, 0427 861 568
Karen Richardson, Gambling Impact Society (NSW), 0407 458 250