Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
License needed for work use Register
Parliament

Gordon Campbell | Parliament TV | Parliament Today | Video | Questions Of the Day | Search

 

Greens demand rise in problem gambling levy

21 September, 2004

Greens demand rise in problem gambling levy

Green MP Sue Bradford is demanding that the Government urgently raise the level of the problem gambling levy in the wake of the Gambling Commission report released today and the AUT gambling study released yesterday.

The highly critical Gambling Commission report was released quietly without any fanfare - two and a half months after it was completed, and in a week when Parliament isn't sitting. It said the new levy is so low that some contracts for problem gambling services may be discontinued and initial funding is already inadequate.

"It is obscene to cut problem gambling services when only yesterday an AUT report showed that problem gambling is a much bigger problem than previously thought," said Ms Bradford, spokesperson for Gambling.

"Where are all these problem gamblers to turn to when the contracts for support services are going to be cut back or lost altogether due to lack of funding?"

The Gambling Commission report found, among other things, that: * The proposed levy is too low to fully address the true scale of problem gambling. * Some problem gambling services will miss out on crucial funding because the levy is not adequate to meet their needs. * The provisions to fund programmes targeting Asian, Maori and youth communities are inadequate. * The contribution of the Lotteries Commission should be increased because of its role in introducing many people to gambling in the first place, even though few people present to problem gambling services with Lotto as their main problem.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

"This report is a wake-up call to the Government to seriously reconsider its commitment to addressing problem gambling in New Zealand," said Ms Bradford.

"The levy must be raised immediately to fund the services that are urgently needed by people affected by gambling addictions. The Government must also lift its performance in meeting the needs of Maori and Asian communities and young people.

"For too long the Government has let the gambling industry set their own agenda. This must change now, before any more lives are ruined by gambling addictions.

"The Gambling Commission was set up under the new Gambling Act specifically to provide independent advice to Government - Government should heed its advice, not try to ignore to bury it," she said.

The report can be found at: http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/0/6E840A29277ADC6ECC256E510073CCF1/$File/Ga mblingCommissionreport.pdf

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

Gordon Campbell: On The New Government’s Policies Of Yesteryear

Winston Peters is routinely described as the kingmaker who decides whether the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded, but equally important role as the scapegoat who can be blamed for killing taxes that his senior partners never much wanted in the first place. Neither Ardern nor Robertson for example, really wanted a capital gains tax, for fear of Labour copping the “tax and spend“ label they ended up being saddled with anyway. Usefully though, they could tell the party faithful it was wicked old Winston who killed the CGT. More


 
 
Public Housing Futures: Christmas Comes Early For Landlords

New CTU analysis of the National & ACT coalition agreement has shown the cost of returning interest deductibility to landlords is an extra $900M on top of National’s original proposal. This is because it is going to be implemented earlier and faster, including retrospective rebates from April 2023. More


Green Party: Petition To Save Oil & Gas Ban

“The new Government’s plan to expand oil and gas exploration is as dangerous as it is unscientific. Whatever you think about the new government, there is simply no mandate to trash the climate. We need to come together to stop them,” says James Shaw. More

PSA: MFAT Must Reverse Decision To Remove Te Reo

MFAT's decision to remove te reo from correspondence before new Ministers are sworn in risks undermining the important progress the public sector has made in honouring te Tiriti. "We are very disappointed in what is a backward decision - it simply seems to be a Ministry bowing to the racist rhetoric we heard on the election campaign trail," says Marcia Puru. More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.