Across New Zealand, churches and their members are disagreeing over whether or not they should accept grant money that is funded by the profits from poker machines. The Anglican Church recently denounced pokie funding, and some members of the community question whether or not it was the right decision.
"The church has had ethical investments, so it is not a new thing to be considering where our funding comes from,” says Reverend Jolyon White, Social Justice Enabler for the Anglican Church. “And to have funding from essentially the most vulnerable people in society . . . is a terrible way to run any society in, but it's particularly appalling for a social service agency or a church.”
The debate came to a head earlier this year, when Pub Charity refused to provide $50 000 worth of funding to an Anglican church that was in need of repairs. The church had applied for funding despite the Archbishop’s announcement that Anglican organizations would no longer accepting funding.
As such, representatives from Pub Charity refused to approve the grant, while the Archbishop argued that not all churches in the country had to abide by the decision. On the other side of the coin, the Catholic Church has not announced any plans to refuse gambling grants on a large scale. In 2008, the Salvation Army decided that it would no longer accept pokie grants, and community members have recently questioned this choice.
They argue that the Salvation Army cannot afford to refuse funding, as poverty rates continue to climb. The organization also provides aid to problem gamblers, so it would make sense that gambling profits should support these services. This is certainly a complex debate, and it is unlikely that any solution will be reached anytime soon.
As the issue develops, Online Pokies 4 U will keep you posted.
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