| Business |
Betting on a loser
THE final act of the outgoing
Government has been to railroad through Parliament legislation
allowing for the creation of casinos in our country.
Parliament has long chosen to ignore the ongoing public outcry
against poker machines.
That chorus has underpinned the life of the House since the fall
of the Skate government.
Sir Mekere Morauta, to his great credit, has maintained an almost
single-handed political battle against pokies throughout his
membership of the House.
Sir Rabbie Namaliu, another former prime minister, is also no
friend of the pokies, nor is Bart Philemon, the parliamentary
leader of the New Generation Party.
It appears that the Prime Minister is among those supportive of
the establishment of casinos in PNG.
Sir Michael introduced the Gaming Control Bill Act 2007 and
claimed that the “specific objective” was to “bring the gaming
industry under one legislative and administrative framework”.
That may well be the case.
But the new act provides for a swathe of new gaming activities
including the establishment and operation of casinos,
overseas-based lottery products and cyber-space gambling.
The new Act literally opens PNG’s doors to a world of gambling
virtually without limits.
This new “freedom” for our people will join the existing poker
machines as one of the most destructive and unjustified moves made
by any government since independence.
It flies on the face of the nation’s experience since the
introduction of the pokies. The Government cannot claim to have
been ignorant of the extent of the damage that these machines have
caused to PNG.
Families have literally been destroyed from one end of the country
to the other.
We have witnessed this destitution in the National Capital
District, in the Western and Eastern Highlands and in other parts
of the country.
We have seen the domestic violence that has consumed family units
in the name of playing pokies.
We have watched children falter at school where once they
excelled; now they have insufficient food, poor medical attention,
and a home atmosphere of tension and violence to contend with.
Once the school fees can no longer be paid, these youngsters,
often embittered for life, find themselves the latest among
thousands of rejects from our educational system.
The pokies must be fed even if our children starve.
The Prime Minister sought to justify the new Act in many ways,
none of them convincing.
Apart from the gathering together of aspects of the gaming
industry into one legislative bundle, Sir Michael says that
patrons will play “in restricted venues” and the tourism industry
“would be stimulated into providing employment opportunities for
many Papua New Guineans”.
The same false claims were made when poker machines were
introduced. We have yet to see authentic figures that indicate the
employment levels within the gaming industry.
The new Act will empower the National Gaming Control Board to
advise the Government “on appropriate forms of gaming acceptable
to the country”. We note the board will merely have the power to
advise on these matters.
And what parameters will board members use to determine the forms
of gaming “acceptable” to the country?
The same board will also be “empowered to carry out community
oriented activities pertaining to the effects of gambling and
promote community awareness and education in respect of the
problems associated with gambling”.
It is one matter to “empower” a body but altogether another to
actually make its members undertake particular functions; that
appears to be nothing in the Act compelling anyone to actually
carry out this commendable activity.
Papua New Guinea lacks many of the basics that would make life a
little less desperate for millions of our people.
Why are we trying to pose as high rollers?
The underlying truth is crystal clear. There is a potential for
huge fortunes to be made under this new Act.
The gaming industry is without doubt the most corrupt global
industry, one riddled with gangsters, prostitution, the extension
of influence through corruption to embrace politics and
governments – the list is virtually endless.
We urge our readers to think long and hard before casting their
votes in the coming elections.
To vote in the wrong government is one gamble the country cannot
afford.
 
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