Renowned Australian anti-slot machine campaigner Nick Xenophon has backtracked on a previous pledge to eradicate all machines in his home state of South Australia, stating instead that he was contemplating “a whole range of measures.”
Speaking to The Australian newspaper ahead of the release of his new SA Best political party’s official slot machine policy next week, Xenophon said his main goal was to reduce harm and protect his constituents but made no mention of wanting to completely ban poker machines as they are known in Australia.
“Reducing the harm caused by poker machines is pretty fundamental, but it would have to be a suite of measures, including more people getting assistance and reducing the number of people getting hurt in the first place,” he said. “But most people just don’t get help when they have a serious gambling problem.”
The presence of Xenophon – a former federal senator – in this year’s South Australian elections has made slot machines a key issue with state Premier Jay Weatherill claiming he would again put forward proposed legislation to reduce the number of venues in which people can play.
“We introduced changes which were blocked in the upper house by the Liberals and we’d happily repropose those, but at the moment there’s not a majority of support for them,” he said. The opposition Liberal party has stated that slot machine policy is not on their agenda with state Liberal leader Steven Marshall also ruling out any possibility of forming a coalition with Xenophon’s SA Best party in order to gain power.
However, slot machines continue to be a hot topic across Australia.
Last month, the Tasmanian Labor party said it would ban slot machines from pubs and clubs in the Australian state if it wins its 2018 state election. Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White said at the time that she planned to give notice to Federal Group – which has a monopoly on Tasmania’s slot machines – that the current deed allowing poker machines in venues other than casinos will not be extended beyond 2023. Such a move would see around 2,300 slot machines removed.
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