While it was shocking to learn NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet wore a Nazi uniform as a costume to his 21st birthday, I wish I could say I was shocked by the supposed impetus behind the reveal.
Undoubtedly internal party politicking was part of it, but the other major factor was the gambling industry and its desire to quash NSW’s desperately needed reform.
For decades the gambling industry has worked as a puppeteer in Australian politics, and nowhere more so than in NSW. At times it has felt like a more effective shadow cabinet than the actual opposition, and that is definitely the case now.
When you “follow the money” in this tangled political web, it leads right to the gambling industry and its borderline racketeering behaviour in protecting profits — profits that so often come from human misery via poker machines that are deliberately designed to addict people; designed by psychologists, no less.
The greatest of these profits come from the suburbs and people who can least afford the losses, thanks to the intentional location and targeting of stressed communities by the industry.
The proposed gambling reforms in NSW are sensible and would have the dual benefit of not just reducing gambling harm but also preventing possibly the easiest way to launder money that exists anywhere in the world.
A card that allows people to set a limit before gambling on poker machines with losses capped at $1500 a day is hardly an infringement on civil liberties. Surely extracting a hypothetical $547,500 a year from people is enough for the gambling industry?
There aren’t many Australians earning that much, let alone able to afford to lose that amount.
These reforms will also stop the almost 87,000 poker machines in NSW being so easily used as effective money-washing machines, as was recently demonstrated by satirical comedy group Boy Boy. They went into poker machine venues wearing T-shirts saying “I’m here to launder money” and made a huge show of what they were doing, yet were not stopped at multiple venues.
That’s because turning a blind eye to money laundering and gambling harm is integral to the gambling industry’s predatory business model. Just last month it was caught out in blatant push-polling against NSW’s essential poker machine reforms.
It’s hardly surprising given it’s had success in the past with political tricks: the industry flexed its political power against former PM Julia Gillard when she tried to introduce poker machine reforms more than a decade ago. That was when the Labor Party learnt just how large the arsenal of the gambling industry is.
Now it seems Labor is scared it will happen once again. NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns could all but neuter the power of the gambling industry on this issue by offering his support for the reforms. As demonstrated in Tasmania, the first state to introduce a mandatory cashless gambling card with pre-set loss limits, when there is bipartisan support the industry’s ruthless lobbying is defanged.
There’s strong support for reform among Labor voters, and the highest harm occurs in the working-class suburbs Labor is meant to represent.
I’m forever perplexed that more people don’t care about this. The parallels between the dangerous power the gambling industry wields in Australia and the gun lobby in America are obvious. Yet the US gun industry is openly acknowledged and discussed here with mocking and disgust, while Australia’s gambling problem continues unabated, busily rotting our democracy while destroying families and devastating our communities.
Minns surprised some with his measured response to the Nazi uniform saga. There is now a once-in-a-generation opportunity for change — he can surprise again and make an extraordinary difference in ushering in much overdue and critically needed gambling reforms in NSW.
It is time to stop the rot.
Do you think the gambling industry is behind Perrottet’s plight? Let us know by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
