The battle over pokie reform is beginning to heat up, as politicians call out anti-reform advocates in the public eye. Senator Nick Xenophon has recently targeted Father Chris Riley over his decision to support Clubs Australia in its fight against pokie reform. Xenophon believes that Father Riley should not be supporting Clubs Australia, as the organization is using misleading information to get the general public on its side.
Last week, Clubs Australia handed out 2 million flyers (with the help of Father Riley), making unsupported claims about the costs of pokie reform. In response to this, Xenophon has written to Riley’s charity, Youth Off The Streets. In his letter, he asked that the charity’s board distance itself from the anti-reform movement.
Not only is Clubs Australian distributing information that Xenophon deems false; he also believes that it is hypocritical for Father Riley to fight reform, an initiative aimed at helping problem gamblers. Father Riley has stated that he does support gambling reform, but that Andrew Wilke’s precommitment scheme is not an effective way to control problem gambling rates. He believes that education and counseling are key to dealing with the issue.