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As Predicted - Brimbank Tops List of State's Highest Pokie Losses |
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Sunday, 16 August 2009 |
.jpg) In February 2008 SunRRA predicted Brimbank was on target to take the crown as the biggest loser and largest contributor of pokie gambling revenue. At that time interim reporting of gambling losses for the first six months of that financial year indicated Brimbank was sitting at number two with half yearly losses of $65 million, after the city of Monash with losses of $66 million.
SunRRA's front page story in February 2008 titled Brimbank second on Pokies Biggest Losers List outlined the sorry saga of Brimbank Council’s flawed Gambling Policy.
In a letter to Brimbank's CEO Mr. Nick Foa in 2008, SunRRA begged the Council to reinstate the Borderlands Gambling Review and Consultation for the Brimbank Council Gambling Policy which had been nobbled by the former CEO midway through the process in 2005. Borderlands' recommendations were ignored while the Council created its own Gambling Directions Paper, arrived at through a flawed and possibly corrupt process. Councillors were not given a copy of the Borderlands recommendations at that time.
SunRRA's letter to Mr Foa can be downloaded here.
SunRRA was told the Borderlands recommendations were abandoned because they “went too far” and could not be endorsed or implemented by the ALP-dominated council, because they did not align with State government objectives at that time.
In January 2009 a SunRRA media release highlighted the issue once again after it was confirmed Brimbank had become number one in pokie gambling losses. See media release here.
We are once again at number one for two years in a row, and after “Rudds cash splash” have another dubious crown - of having the highest poker machine losses in history - of $136 million in one year. This is $13 million more than the second placed pokie loser, the City of Monash, with losses of $123 million.
State Government and Brimbank Council are now firmly in breach of their duty of care by continuing to ignore recognized professional recommendations in favour of non professional and illegitimate Council recommendations authorised by the now discredited Suleyman faction. The current Brimbank Gambling Policy was not sourced from the Brimbank community. Rather it was sourced from the infamous ALP Headquarters where plans have been crafted to spend the growing pokies revenues stripped from poor communities like Brimbank on even more community infrastructure in over-endowed marginal seats in leafy and more well off parts of Victoria. The community infrastructure gaps between the “haves” and “have nots” continue to widen on the back of bigger and bigger pokies losses in Brimbank. This is social injustice.
SunRRA believes, then and now, that Brimbank Council caved in under pressure from ALP politicians, factional warlords and gambling venue operators, and chose to just “contain gambling problems”. Our Labor MPs continued to demonstrate they were the puppets of ALP Headquarters, lacking the personal courage to do the right thing for the people they represent.
The Brimbank Council Gambling Policy Statements are bland, grey and standardized, and mean virtually nothing. They do not take into account the special significance of our disadvantaged area, nor the higher than average risk factors associated with our population.
The Brimbank Gambling Policy is too soft and is the result of a flawed process. Council needs to revisit the process and go back to the drawing board. Its obvious extreme policy intervention is needed now.
Some facts to note:
- When Brimbank Council reviewed its Gambling Policy in 2005 gambling losses were $103 million - second highest after the City of Monash at $119 million. Total State losses were more than $2.3 billion.
- In 2006 Brimbank’s pokie losses were more than $115 million, second only to the City of Monash with losses of more than $126 million. Total State losses were more than $2.4 billion.
- In 2007 Brimbank still had the second highest pokie losses of $120 million, $8 million short of the City of Monash which lost $128 million. Total State loses were more than $2.5 billion.
- In 2008 Brimbank has the highest pokie losses, as predicted by SunRRA, with losses of more than $127 million. This is $2 million more than the City of Monash which lost $125 million. Total Statewide loses were more than $2.6 billion.
- All records were broken in 2009 with Brimbank topping the list of the State's biggest losers, with losses of more than $136 million. This is roughly $13 million ahead of the second biggest loser, the City of Monash which lost more than $123 million. Total State loses were more than $2.7 billion.
- In 2005 Brimbank lost $103 million and in 2009 Brimbank lost $136 million. Up $33 million in 5 years.
- Total losses in Brimbank for this four year period were $486 million, all the while Brimbank Council has done nothing to strengthen its gambling policy or address this ever increasing problem for our community.
SunRRA will continue to fight actively to overturn what is now shaping as a major social injustice brought about by a group of ten ALP Councillors and local MPs lacking the individual and collective courage to do the right thing for the people, and tell ALP Headquarters where to stick their current gambling policies.
We call on the Brumby Government’s Social Development Committee of Cabinet to do the right thing before the social divide in Victoria worsens significantly and earns the state the reputation as an Unfair Victoria. |
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