When Andrew Wilkie ran for government in 2010, one of his major campaign tools was a pokie loss calculator. He has recently decided to donate the iconic machine to the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, but he has not given up on his hopes for pokie reform. Originally, Wilkie attempted to sell the machine on ebay for $5000. In the description for the item, he stated that the counter was the centrepiece for his 2010 election campaign.
The machine calculates how much money has been lost on pokies since the2010 state election, and it is even programmed to calculate losses when it is unplugged. During his campaign, the machine was placed on top of his election vehicle and was on display as he drove around town. "I hoped that displaying it so prominently on a moving vehicle would help people realise that something needed to be done,” he said.
Unfortunately, there were no takers. So, the MP decided to donate the piece of political memorabilia to the TMAG. At the gallery, the counter will continue to calculate pokie losses. While Wilkie has given away the symbol of his pokie reform campaign, he has not given up his goal to reduce gambling harm. On his website, the banner continues to display the amount of money lost on pokies this year, and it is updated in real time.
As the Abbott government has taken over, there is concern that he may overturn the recent decision to implement pokie reform. However, Wilkie has made it his mission to ensure that this does not happen. He will continue to fight for poker machine reform, helping to curb problem gambling rates across the country and reduce pokie spending on a national level.
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