Productivity Commission report
EMILY BOURKE: The Greens have opened another avenue for poker machine reform which could help the Government's efforts to combat problem gambling.
The Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie has threatened to withdraw support for the Government next year unless his proposed poker machine reforms go ahead.
The other two key independents who are keeping Labor in power have previously indicated that they have concerns about the policy but neither have made a final decision.
At the same time the gaming industry has been campaigning strongly against the proposed restrictions on poker machines.
Today the Greens have put forward an alternative that they say the clubs should accept. They're calling for a $1 bet limit.
Felicity Ogilvie reports.
FELICITY OGILVIE: The Greens poker machine policy is set up as an alternative to the reforms that the Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie has negotiated with the Government.
The Greens are keeping the $1 betting limit from Mr Wilkie's policy. But their policy avoids the mandatory pre-commitment in Mr Wilkie's policy where gamblers set limits on the amount of money they're prepared to lose.
The Victorian Greens Senator Richard Di Natale explains their policy.
RICHARD DI NATALE: Most people, 88 per cent of recreational gamblers bet a dollar or less per spin. So it makes for very little difference. People won't notice the change.
The people that will notice the change are the people who bet large amounts of money each spin and lose up to several thousand dollars per hour.
FELICITY OGILVIE: The Greens say they're bringing on another poker machine policy to make sure the reforms get through the Parliament.
And Senator Di Natale has indicated the Greens would still vote for Andrew Wilkie's poker machine reforms.
RICHARD DE NATALE: We are not going to jeopardise reform in this area. What we've tried to do is introduce a circuit breaker.
We know that clubs have been running this very strong line about a licence to punt and they are making the argument that it's going to be a huge up-front cost to clubs. Under our proposal that doesn't happen. We hope the Government is interested.
FELICITY OGILVIE: The Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin has put out a statement saying the Government's position of supporting pre-commitment has not changed.
It's not clear if the other independents whose support is needed for the poker machine reforms would prefer the Greens policy. But Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor's votes will be crucial.
The independent who started the reforms - Andrew Wilkie - is undeterred by the Greens' new policy.
Mr Wilkie has put out a statement saying he's please that the Greens policy dovetails with his own bid to limit poker machine bets to $1.
The independent South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon also says that the Greens policy overlaps with his bid to limit poker machine bets to $1.
NICK XENOPHON: Well Andrew Wilkie's ideas and the Greens' ideas and my ideas and the majority of the Gambling Reform Committee are the same idea - that machines should be $1 maximum bet machines, smaller jackpot, smaller levels of loss, 90 per cent reduction, consistent entirely with the Productivity Commission's report on this but having $1 maximum bets.
Mandatory pre-commitment was another aspect of the Productivity Commission's report which would be optional for high loss, high intensity machines where you can put in $10 per spin at a time and load up the machines and literally be able to lose thousands of dollars an hour.
FELICITY OGILVIE: But the Greens bid to appease the biggest critic of the poker machine reforms has already failed.
The executive director of Clubs Australia Anthony Ball says a $1 betting limit won't stop problem gamblers.
ANTHONY BALL: Problem gamblers will continue to play. And this is what the Greens haven't pointed out. How does it help a problem gambler?
It's the same problem that Andrew Wilkie has with mandatory pre-commitment. How will it help a problem gambler?
If their goal is to simply drive down the amount of gambling that happens on poker machines, well you may well go for both of these.
But if you really are about helping problem gamblers and that's what we should be about, you wouldn't give them a card to gamble and you wouldn't introduce massive change in gaming technology to introduce a $1 maximum bet.
FELICITY OGILVIE: The Greens maintain that the $1 betting limit will help problem gamblers to stop losing so much money on poker machines.
EMILY BOURKE: Felicity Ogilvie reporting.
The Greens have unveiled an alternative gambling reform policy that they claim could help defuse the heated debate about poker machine reform.
They say low-impact, $1 maximum-bet pokies could remove the need for mandatory pre-commitment.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has said his support for Julia Gillard's minority government depends on legislation to combat problem gambling via poker machines, but clubs say they will be crippled under the legislation.
Greens Senator Richard Di Natale says the Greens policy would address Clubs Australia's major concern about the high cost of introducing mandatory pre-commitment.
Senator Di Natale says the policy is simpler and cheaper for clubs to administer and it gives the Federal Government more options.
"Under our policy in fact the cost is negligible ... they can do it in many cases remotely. [They] won't need to send a technician in to change the machines because the parameters already exist," he said.
"We think this actually increases the chance of reform. We think we've got two options now on the table: we've got an option that may be more attractive to government and maybe more attractive to the industry."
Senator Di Natale says the party also wants to see a maximum jackpot of $500 to "limit the volatility of the machines".
He also wants to see changes that would only allow a maximum of $20 to be loaded into a pokie at any one time.
"That provides a bit of a circuit breaker for someone who's in the zone, who's gambling, they have to reach for their wallet," he said.
"They can't front-end a machine with hundreds of dollars."
In a statement, Mr Wilkie welcomed what he called the Greens' "continuing interest" in poker machine reform.
"I'm pleased to see their policy dovetails with my reforms, which include mandatory pre-commitment on high-intensity machines and the roll out of low-intensity machines with $1 maximum bets that can played outside of mandatory pre-commitment," Mr Wilkie said.
"I'm continuing to work with the Federal Government to implement our reforms, which have not changed in any way.
"I also welcome the Australian Greens' preparedness to ultimately support the introduction of mandatory pre-commitment on high-intensity machines."
But the Greens' bid to appease the biggest critic of the poker machine reforms have already failed.
The executive director of Clubs Australia, Anthony Ball, says a $1 limit will not cure problem gamblers.
Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin has put out a statement saying the Government's position of supporting pre-commitment has not changed.
Senator Di Natale has indicated the Greens would still vote for Mr Wilkie's poker machine reforms.
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