Council accepts dirty cash from gambling gains.

Thanks to http://imgur.com/HDjRu for this cartoon that says it in pictures.

In the final episode of the Poker Machines Saga, Council last night chose to support receiving dirty gambling cash in a  'payment for support' decision.

I've reported extensively on this issue in prior blogs, but if you want to recap on what has been put through Shoalhaven's poker machines look at these previous posts.

Pokies 1

Pokies 2

Pokies 3

The current Council overturned the previous Councils position of neutrality when Mayor Gash put forward a Mayoral min in October advising Councillors that she had sent a letter of support to the Office of Liquor and Gaming in support of the Milton Ulladulla Ex Servos application for a 20% increase in machines. Mayor Gash didn't consult with the Councillors about this and of course it was part of the great bundling debacle that made it impossible for Councillors to vote against this particular issue.

Last night I argued that Councillors should take a stand and not accept the funding, but enact the Councils charter and act to support the vulnerable in our community.

Charities and Councils should not be placed in the position were they feel they must accept money from clubs gambling gains. It may be a so called accepted practice but really, Government should collect tax from clubs instead of giving them tax breaks for donating to community and that tax should be redistributed to the area from which it was collected.

Council is now complicit to a system that is littered with the tattered lives of addicted gamblers who spend their life savings feeding their addiction.

There was one huge surprise to me during the debate when Clr Anstiss declared that it was a 'wonderful thing that the clubs donated to the community' and that 'no one was making an individual gambler push the button' 'without donations from Clubs SOLA wouldn't exist" 'council will be happy to have the funds as someone has to have them".

I was surprised with Clr Anstiss naive comments as she is a well know community person who seems to understand social disadvantage through her organisation SOLA ( Slice of Life Australia). I expected that Clr Anstiss would have been more aware of gambling addiction and on this issue be an ally to the cause and understand that government needs to continue to take responsibility to help create more equality for the disadvantage and fund programmes rather than continue support for the paradigm that government has created with the clubs industry.

I understand that there are many good people working within clubs, but this a structural issue that has been supported and perpetuated by Government and needs people to stand together to make it stop.

Interestingly this week Don Rowe president of RSL NSW has come out openly condemning Clubs and his allegation that they abuse the ANZAC legend.