MP Te Ururoa Flavell has been urged by problem gambling groups to withdraw his Harm Reduction Bill. The legislation was originally aimed at reducing the potential harm that the gambling industry could cause the local community, but it has been watered down by federal politicians.
Because the bill has changed so vastly, the Salvation Army and other local organizations feel that the bill should be withdrawn, but Flavell will not back down. Flavell has recently issued a press release that defends his bill, in spite of recent amendment. In the release, he acknowledges that the current state of the bill is far less impressive than what he originally presented.
However, he states that this does not negate the fact that the bill has the best interests of the community at heart. “I know that this bill does not live up to the ideal we all had – but I have chosen not to walk away in defeat,” Flavell writes. “My approach to political reform is to chisel away, bit by bit, to persevere, to do the work necessary to achieve change – no matter how incremental”.
One point of contention was over the racing board’s involvement in the poker machine market. The Harm Reduction Bill wanted racing organizations to be cut out and exempt from pokie grant funding, but the government did not agree. Federal politicians stated that these organizations rely heavily on pokie funding, and the proposed provision could compromise many groups.
On the positive side, the government has agreed that pokie profits should be used to local organizations. That is, organizations which are located in the same jurisdictions where the profits were generated. The government has also agreed to being the implementation of harm reduction technology, such as pre-commitment. So, while Flavell has given up quite a lot of his bill, there are still many effective provisions that are on the table.
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