The poker machine debate

Soon after Labor came to power in 2007 then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, expressed serious concern at the high level of binge drinking among young people in Australia. His response was to introduce the so called alcopop tax - a revenue raiser designed to discourage young people from drinking soft drink based liquor by making it more expensive.

But the really dangerous cocktail was a mixture of poker machines, virtually unlimited pub trading hours, a state government dependence on gambling taxes and an enormously powerful pub lobby particularly in NSW.

The poker machine gamblers may well not be the heavy drinkers. But the opportunity to feed their habit at all hours of the night is providing the circumstances for binge drinking by others leading to anti-social behaviour and a consequent decline in respect for the police who are charged with trying to maintain law and order. There is a financial as well as a social cost to the community here.

There's no doubt that the states (and not just those with Liberal premiers) will fight any moves from Canberra to interfere with their poker machine gambling laws. But hotel trading hours are another matter and sooner or later they are going to have to connect the dots between open ended bar trading and gambling.

The most recently elected Liberal Premier, Barry O'Farrell in NSW, has a mandate more than big enough to allow him to stand up to the pub lobby and overhaul trading hours in the interests of community wellbeing even if this means a reduction in government gambling revenue.