Australia - why gambol with gambling.

The alliance for gambling reform is doing a good job -but until the nation wakes up to the fact that we are a nation of gamblers, we will struggle with this pastime.

What we have to do is stop the political parties who love the gambling incomes that are forthcoming and help fill their coffers. Horse /dog and other forms of racing are endemic in this country but it was the political parties that initiated the installation of poker machines into clubs in NSW. The Labor party were the instigators and since then the coalition parties have joined in the spree, that prevails today. It must be remembered that the justification to have registered clubs in NSW was that they would benefit community. After the poker machines were approved in 1956, it quickley became clear that after generous tax receipts by the state treasury, the main beneficiaries were the political parties, when the clubs, then Poker machine manufactures found it necessary to donate to the political parties. Then in about 1997 the parties caved into the demands of hotels and pubs, all the while enjoying the benefits.

In 1999 the Australian Productivity Commission reported a figure of 185000 gaming/poker machines in Australia, more than half within NSW. Then came the arrival in Hobart 1973 of the first legal casino followed in Launceston, Alice Springs and Darwin between1979and 1982. It was already known that these facilities were welcomed by the criminal fraternity for their ease of money laundering. The bigger they became with those in Surface Paradise, Townsville, Perth and Adelaide during the early 1980's ,cementing Australia's place in the criminal world. With NSW passing casino legislation in 1986, prepatory to the state governments rapid approval of at least two in Sydney, Australia became very popular with the aforesaid international criminal fraternity.

All of this preamble should awaken the Nation to the realisation that it is the political parties, who have driven this move to gaming /poker machines and casino's at the expense of the more traditional forms of gambling.

To stop all forms of gambling in this country would be equivalent to climbing Mt Everest, even harder. But, stopping or even controlling the elicit flow of corrupt funds to our political parties from these particular forms of gambling is a must.

With a parliament of independent members we may have a chance?

www.movementforbettergovernment.com.au