AUSTRALIAN GREENS SA GAMING POLICY
BACKGROUND AND PLATFORM
At the time of the introduction of gaming machines into South Australia, communities across our state were dealing with a range of challenging problems such as poverty, unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence, etcetera. We still continue to grapple with these issues, even at a time when the government is well resourced to respond to these challenges. Gaming machines have contributed further to the social and economic difficulties experienced by communities. Their contribution to poverty and family breakdown is now well documented. The economic and recreational benefits to local communities, from gaming machines, are now highly debatable.
Greens SA has a commitment to building sustainable communities. That is, communities that are ecologically and economically robust enough to stand independently apart from the national and global economies. Thus the protection of the local economy is of paramount importance. Gaming machines have proven to be a drain on the local economy, taking spending away from a broad range of small businesses, both goods and service providers and moving this spending into a non productive sector of the economy. Greens SA seeks to reverse this trend.
Greens SA does not support the view that by placing further restrictions on the use of gaming machines, SA would experience an increase in unemployment, through jobs lost in the hospitality industry. Our view is that SA would see an increase in employment across many industries through the redirection of spending. The small business sector would be provided with a significant boost in employment. Many of these newly created jobs would be of a more highly skilled nature than those in the hospitality industry. The flow on effect of this spending on manufacturing would be greater than that achieved by gaming machines, and the casino for that matter.
Over recent years governments across Australia have come to rely more and more on tax revenue from gambling. In part, this has been due to the shortfall in revenue from the privatisation of government services. Greens SA seeks to reverse this trend. We will not support any further privatisation of government services. By redirecting spending from gaming machines the Greens will have a firm argument to claim a higher share of the goods and services tax from the Federal Government.
It is also a poor moral position, that we as a community, fund our health, welfare and education services from the gaming machine industry that is a significant contributor to South Australia’s social problems.
Greens SA believes that any debate and strategy on reducing poverty must confront the negative impact that gaming machines are having on our communities across SA.
Casinos and gaming machines contribute little to our cultural and recreational life. Greens SA would focus on building other industries in SA that provide a more worthwhile contribution to our culture and recreation. An example is further government investment in our local film industry, producing local product. Our local film industry has the potential to not only provide much needed employment to a sector that is suffering from considerable underemployment, but also to replace imported US film that continues to flood our market.
POLICY.
Greens SA will pursue the following legislative changes to laws governing casinos and gaming machines in SA:
1)Phase out of current gaming machines in SA from March 2006 to March 2010
2)No further gaming machine licences will be issued
3)No further casinos will be established in SA
4) No compensation will be paid for the loss of gaming machines
© Copyright The Australian Greens SA 2008 Disclaimer Notice and Site Credits
