Update:
Minutes ago an unprecedented community coalition launched a campaign to push for
poker machine reform.
The Stop the Loss Coalition, of which GetUp is a founding member, is a community campaign bringing together religious, civil society and consumer groups to counter Clubs Australia's aggressively misleading $40 million anti-reform campaign.
Politicians are deciding their next steps right now. That's why we need to come together and raise an additional $50,000 so we'll be able to start the distribution of one million letters direct to voters this weekend. This is our chance to turn the same tactic that Clubs Australia has been using on its head. Can you donate $15, $25 or $50 right now to take on the pokie profiteers and fight for real reform?
This may be our last chance to achieve reform that will save lives, and stop tragedies like the one GetUp member Clelia Koch’s family experienced. Clelia's original email from Monday is below.
Thanks for fighting back.
Erin for the GetUp team
--- Original Email ---
The Prime Minister and the Federal Cabinet are considering whether to scrap problem gambling reform, instead turning to a model of 'voluntary' pre-commitment that independent trials (and common sense) have shown to be completely ineffective. If the Prime Minister chooses to break her promise and trash reform, either by scrapping it all together or delaying it beyond the next election, thousands more lives could be destroyed just for political expediency. Can you chip in to our rapid response advertising campaign so that we stop this backdown before the Government makes their final decision? --
Please note: An email from GetUp member Clelia Koch is below. We are passing this email on to you and your details have not been shared.
Dear friends,
It’s a tough time of year for my family. My beloved son-in-law, who was addicted to pokies, hung himself on Australia Day in 2008, leaving behind twins aged four years, as well as a six-year old daughter. His addiction to poker machines had taken most of his wages for years and he had borrowed heavily from loan sharks to cover up his heavy losses. We had no idea. When I speak to people about my family tragedy, most try to comfort me by saying they also know of marriage breakdowns and the loss of homes as a result of mortgage payments being secretly diverted into pokies. But this doesn’t comfort me. It breaks my heart.
After thinking the government was finally going to do something real to help problem gamblers, today I'm hearing some very distressing news. The Prime Minister is considering caving in to the powerful hotels lobby, by trying to get away with ‘voluntary pre-commitment’ instead. That would mean gamblers choosing whether to set a limit on how much they’ll spend in one go. Speaking from experience I can tell you that there's nothing voluntary about addiction, and while this policy may be more politically convenient, it won’t do anybody any good.
Can you join me and click here to donate to GetUp's campaign in defence of real reform? There’s a newspaper ad blitz ready to go tomorrow if we all chip in today.
They say pokie machines are the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling because they're designed to be so addictive. For someone like my son-in-law, their effect can be devastating. These machines can swallow more than $1000 hour, and Australia has more of them than any other country on earth. No wonder gamblers in Australia lose $12 billion this way every year.
Meanwhile, experts will tell you that voluntary pre-commitment, the cop-out the Government are considering right now, has been studied for years. Studies by three state governments and the Productivity Commission all found the same thing: it will absolutely fail because it won't help the people who need it most, which is exactly why the clubs are willing to allow it. As someone who has seen problem gambling and its devastating effects up close, I agree with the experts that the best real-world solution is to limit gamblers’ ability to lose so much in one sitting. The vast majority of recreational gamblers won’t be affected at all – but for those who do need help, limiting bets to $1 or capping total losses at $120 an hour per machine (instead of $1000!) will save jobs, homes, families and even lives.
Can you join me in putting a message in the papers tomorrow: we won't buy this phoney reform. Problem gamblers and the families who love them need real help now.
https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/pokies-reform/voluntary-pre-commitment/stop-the-loss
Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you. It is my most sincere hope that together, we will prevent other families from experiencing the pain that my family must endure every day.
Clelia Koch
GetUp member
GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you'd like to contribute to help fund GetUp's work, please donate now! If you have trouble with any links in this email, please go directly to www.getup.org.au. To unsubscribe from GetUp, please click here. Authorised by Simon Sheikh, Level 5, 116 Kippax St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
The Stop the Loss Coalition, of which GetUp is a founding member, is a community campaign bringing together religious, civil society and consumer groups to counter Clubs Australia's aggressively misleading $40 million anti-reform campaign.
Politicians are deciding their next steps right now. That's why we need to come together and raise an additional $50,000 so we'll be able to start the distribution of one million letters direct to voters this weekend. This is our chance to turn the same tactic that Clubs Australia has been using on its head. Can you donate $15, $25 or $50 right now to take on the pokie profiteers and fight for real reform?
This may be our last chance to achieve reform that will save lives, and stop tragedies like the one GetUp member Clelia Koch’s family experienced. Clelia's original email from Monday is below.
Thanks for fighting back.
Erin for the GetUp team
--- Original Email ---
The Prime Minister and the Federal Cabinet are considering whether to scrap problem gambling reform, instead turning to a model of 'voluntary' pre-commitment that independent trials (and common sense) have shown to be completely ineffective. If the Prime Minister chooses to break her promise and trash reform, either by scrapping it all together or delaying it beyond the next election, thousands more lives could be destroyed just for political expediency. Can you chip in to our rapid response advertising campaign so that we stop this backdown before the Government makes their final decision? --
Please note: An email from GetUp member Clelia Koch is below. We are passing this email on to you and your details have not been shared.
Dear friends,
It’s a tough time of year for my family. My beloved son-in-law, who was addicted to pokies, hung himself on Australia Day in 2008, leaving behind twins aged four years, as well as a six-year old daughter. His addiction to poker machines had taken most of his wages for years and he had borrowed heavily from loan sharks to cover up his heavy losses. We had no idea. When I speak to people about my family tragedy, most try to comfort me by saying they also know of marriage breakdowns and the loss of homes as a result of mortgage payments being secretly diverted into pokies. But this doesn’t comfort me. It breaks my heart.
After thinking the government was finally going to do something real to help problem gamblers, today I'm hearing some very distressing news. The Prime Minister is considering caving in to the powerful hotels lobby, by trying to get away with ‘voluntary pre-commitment’ instead. That would mean gamblers choosing whether to set a limit on how much they’ll spend in one go. Speaking from experience I can tell you that there's nothing voluntary about addiction, and while this policy may be more politically convenient, it won’t do anybody any good.
Can you join me and click here to donate to GetUp's campaign in defence of real reform? There’s a newspaper ad blitz ready to go tomorrow if we all chip in today.
They say pokie machines are the ‘crack cocaine’ of gambling because they're designed to be so addictive. For someone like my son-in-law, their effect can be devastating. These machines can swallow more than $1000 hour, and Australia has more of them than any other country on earth. No wonder gamblers in Australia lose $12 billion this way every year.
Meanwhile, experts will tell you that voluntary pre-commitment, the cop-out the Government are considering right now, has been studied for years. Studies by three state governments and the Productivity Commission all found the same thing: it will absolutely fail because it won't help the people who need it most, which is exactly why the clubs are willing to allow it. As someone who has seen problem gambling and its devastating effects up close, I agree with the experts that the best real-world solution is to limit gamblers’ ability to lose so much in one sitting. The vast majority of recreational gamblers won’t be affected at all – but for those who do need help, limiting bets to $1 or capping total losses at $120 an hour per machine (instead of $1000!) will save jobs, homes, families and even lives.
Can you join me in putting a message in the papers tomorrow: we won't buy this phoney reform. Problem gamblers and the families who love them need real help now.
https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/pokies-reform/voluntary-pre-commitment/stop-the-loss
Thank you for allowing me to share my story with you. It is my most sincere hope that together, we will prevent other families from experiencing the pain that my family must endure every day.
Clelia Koch
GetUp member
GetUp is an independent, not-for-profit community campaigning group. We use new technology to empower Australians to have their say on important national issues. We receive no political party or government funding, and every campaign we run is entirely supported by voluntary donations. If you'd like to contribute to help fund GetUp's work, please donate now! If you have trouble with any links in this email, please go directly to www.getup.org.au. To unsubscribe from GetUp, please click here. Authorised by Simon Sheikh, Level 5, 116 Kippax St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
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