CAOG Articles
:. The
Gambling Advocacy Project provides updates on its activities in the VLGA
Bulletin. Articles can be accessed at VLGA
Lives in the balance
A new program aims to understand the role of gambling, writes Carolyn Rance – The Age, 5 August 2006
:. You might expect
Victoria’s community advocate on gambling to regard any interview
as an opportunity to roll out horror stories about problem gamblers, their
financial losses and associated suffering. Andrew Manning takes a more
measured approach. “This is not an anti–gambling project,” he
says.
:. “My
goal is not to be a media hero, leading the charge from the front, it is
fundamentally about working with communities to empower them, giving them
the skills, knowledge, ability and confidence to be able to put forward
their issues and concerns in the most professional, articulate and influential
way.”
:. Trained in social
sciences and public policy, Mr Manning has spent most of his career working
for local government and community organisations. He was formerly manager
of policy and research at Maribyrnong Council and manager of social planning
at Frankston.
:. His interest
in gambling as a social issue began when he worked as an executive officer
at the City of Moreland. “It was in the late ’90s, when councils
had gone through amalgamation, restructured themselves and were looking
at social issues and how to work with different groups,” he says.
:. Now undertaking
doctoral studies on the impact of gambling and public policy, he took the
new advocacy job in March. Funded by the State Government’s Department
of Justice under the auspices of the Victorian Local Governance Association,
the job was created after lobbying from the community groups involved in
the Community Action on Pokie Problems network.
:. With part-time
research and support officer Angela Nicholas, Mr Manning works to give
local councils, community groups and individuals an authoritative voice
in the quest to minimise the harm done by gambling.
:. “People
are going to gamble one way or another, the question is how can it be done
responsibly,” he says. “How can you balance different, sometimes
competing, agendas and views?”
:. It is a question
that is clearly in the minds of many.
:. The review of
poker machine licensing by the State Government has attracted 75 submissions
from councils, groups and individuals.
:. The submission
from CAPP claims that gambling loses have spiralled out of control for
many Victorians and more than half of the net poker machine revenue comes
from people who have a gambling problem or are at risk of developing one.
:. Mr Manning says
that until his appointment the community sector had no publicly funded
way to participate in the gambling debate despite big changes to the industry
in the past 15 years.
:. Victorian gamblers
now lose about $2.5 billion a year on poker machines alone, and when other
forms of gambling are taken into account, total loses are closer to $4
billion. The likely impact of online gambling is unknown.
:. With the State
Government expected to reap almost $1.5 billion in gambling revenues next
financial year, public policy and gambling have become inextricably linked
and Mr Manning says it is vital that people are are able to articulate
their concerns.
“How can you balance different, sometimes competing, agendas and views?”
:. “This
project is about encouraging informed input. If people and groups are going
to take part in policy discussions, debates and review processes, they
need to be crystal clear about their facts, they need evidence to back
their assertions.”
:. Mr Manning believes
there is growing awareness of the risks posed by gambling to current and
future generations.
:. “When local
councils started to look at gambling as a policy issue in the late 1990s
and early 2000s, pokies were a big focus, but they are starting to see
the effects of other forms of gambling.”
:. “There
is an older population with a preference for bingo and electronic gaming,
but they are also seeing young man who have difficulties with gambling
on horse racing, and there is emerging information about the potential
for difficulties with electronic gambling on the internet.”
:. “We are
talking about the livelihoods of people in the community and in the gambling
industry and the way that government funds its services. We are talking
about significant sums of money, significant issues.”
:. He hopes his
work will help government, communities and the industry develop ways to
minimise harm. “The magnitude of problem gambling is always up for
debate but the reality is that there are problems and it is incumbent on
all parties to do something to address them,” he says.
:. Mr Manning says
more precautionary thinking rather than the laissez faire approach that
saw pokie numbers escalate could make the industry safer.
:. “We require
it to be shown that drugs and other medical interventions do not have harmful
effects. Why don’t we do it with gambling, which also affects health
and wellbeing?”