[Greens-Media] Tas Greens_Treasurer Has No Answers On Pokies_K Booth MP

[greens at parliament.tas.gov.au]

AIRD HAS NO ANSWERS ON POKIES
 
Where is TGC Response To Gambling Study?

Kim Booth MP
Greens Shadow Gaming spokesperson

Friday, 31 October 2008
Contact: State Parliamentary Offices of the Tasmanian Greens, (03) 6233
8300

www.tas.greens.org.au


The Tasmanian Greens today called on the Treasurer, Michael Aird, to
urgently communicate with the Tasmanian Gaming Commission (TGC) and
release not only the date by which the TGC's report on the Social and
Economic Impact Study on Gambling (SACES), released more than three
months ago, would be with the Treasurer, but also called on the
Treasurer to commit to making the TGC's findings public. 

Greens Shadow Gaming spokesperson Kim Booth MP said that it was critical
that Treasurer Aird committed to pursuing the TGC response and publicly
releasing the findings as there may well be budget implications flowing
from the TGC's recommendations and these needed to be factored in to the
next state budget.

"Treasurer Aird must indicate publicly whether he expects to receive the
TGC assessment of the independent SACES report before the end of this
year, and commit to making that assessment public once he has received
it," Mr Booth said.

"The long awaited Social and Economic Impact Study into Gambling has
been out for months and yet all the Treasurer can tell us is that the
findings by the TGC from the report will be with him 'shortly'."

"Another year of Labor addiction to pokie revenue has meant more pain
for Tasmanians, losing not only their money but also their self esteem,
as they get dragged into the grip of problem gambling and yet Treasurer
Aird seems determined to not acknowledge the urgency of this situation."

"The Treasurer needs to wake up to himself and realise that every day
that measures to assist problem gamblers are delayed, is another day
where the people who can least afford to lose money in our community are
losing it by the fistful."

"The dollars that are poured down the throat of pokies are the same
dollars that pour into the pockets of Treasury and this Labor
government, however they are dollars that should rightly be clothing and
feeding families, flowing into small businesses and providing jobs and
growth in the wider Tasmanian economy."

"The Treasurer needs to give us the date that the TGC is reporting their
findings from the SACES report, commit to releasing publicly those
findings and then act on the recommendations immediately so that we can
start trying to repair the damage caused by these machines over the past
decade."




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