Tasmanian Greens criticise government delay on cashless gaming system

Rosalie Woodruff MP said a report showed there was “no justification” for the delay.

Australia.- Rosalie Woodruff MP of the Tasmanian Greens has accused the government of prioritising the financial interests of “a cashed-up pokies industry” after the release of the MaxGaming report, which was used by the Tasmanian government to justify the delay in the rollout of a mandatory cashless card system.

The government had cited the cost and implementation time as obstacles, but Woodruff said the report shows the delivery of the pre-commitment card was “planned to the finest detail.”

The MP said: “Premier Jeremy Rockliff has been wilfully deceiving Tasmanians about the true reason for abandoning his government’s promised pokies mandatory pre-commitment reforms. Maxgaming’s report shows it’s not about complexity or timeframes, it’s only ever been about the impact on pokies industry profits. The Premier has chosen his party’s corporate donor’s interests above protecting the lives of vulnerable Tasmanians.”

She added: “There were no hurdles identified to its delivery by the end of next year, aside from further government delay. The Minister simply needed to sign it off the program by November 1,” Woodruff said.

Originally announced in 2022, the pre-commitment measures would have had default settings to restrict losses to AU$100 per day, AU$500 per month and AU$5,000 per year. Players would have been able to adjust these amounts based on their financial capacity.

See also: Anglican dean launches petition for Tasmanian gaming machine reforms

Tasmanian Greens call for ban on greyhound racing

Meanwhile, Cassy O’Connor MLC of the Tasmanian Greens has welcomed the New Zealand government’s decision to ban greyhound racing and called on the Tasmanian government to make the same move.

She said: “Greyhound racing is now banned in many countries. It’s also illegal in the ACT, for good reason. It is a form of state-sponsored violence towards gentle, blameless dogs. Increasingly, everyday people find this completely unacceptable.

“It’s past time for the Tasmanian Government to show the same humane leadership. The Liberals and Labor here need to accept the reality that greyhound racing has lost its social license due to the grotesque level of exploitation and public subsidy underpinning the industry.”

Rosalie Woodruff MP said a report showed there was “no justification” for the delay. Australia.- Rosalie Woodruff MP of the Tasmanian Greens has accused the government of prioritising the financial interests…