Gamblers will find a way - in spite of the flu

Groups identified as being below the poverty line include:

• 40.2 per cent of unemployed people;
• 39.0 per cent of single adults over 65 years;
• 31.5 per cent of all people whose main income is social security;
• 22.8 per cent of single adults of workforce age; and
• 11.4 per cent of sole parent families.

From that snap shot of people who are represented in the “below the poverty line” category it is apparent that the majority of Indigenous people fall comfortably into this group based on recent ABS statistics on household income.

It therefore points to the fact that this group with a disposable income of less than $249 a week can ill afford to squander it when they have demands for competing payments on rent, food, clothing, school costs, sporting costs and so on.

On most weeks one or more of the above urgent expenses is placed on the back burner as scarce resources go to feeding selfish and addictive gambling, alcohol and smoking habits of stressed people.

Every Indigenous community has a growing band of lost souls who are now separated from their families and constantly moving between jobs because of their addiction to gambling or alcohol or drugs or a combination of the three.

Sadly, today, many of our Indigenous leaders who occupy responsible positions in tax payer funded organisations or the public service are compulsive gamblers, alcoholics or are identified as drug dependent.

So why do I bother with stories of doom and gloom about gambling and other associated evils when so many of our mob just simply loves to chance their luck?

Since I’ve given up all forms of gambling four years ago after being passionate about the most Australian of all leisure pursuits for all of my adult life I’ve achieved the following:

• went from long term renting to acquiring a mortgage on my first house;
• exclusively spend all my leisure time with my family;
• written three books and writing another and received a Deadly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literature in the process;
• named NAIDOC Indigenous Person of the Year
• became the national columnist for the Koori Mail;
• undertaken my PhD through Monash University;
• wrote and produced a documentary which my wife directed;
• delivered keynote addresses to national and international conferences and continue to receive numerous invitations to speak at major forums; and
• today carry a wallet with more folding money than coins and have a bank account that is no longer in the red.

If I was still gambling I would have achieved none of the above and probably be arguing with my family over unpaid bills and spending less quality time with them as a unit.

I encourage people to shake their gambling habit and reward themselves with the immeasurable joys of spending quality time with their loved ones. With sensible financial management practices I can assure them that they will enjoy putting their feet up and watching their asset base grow with every cent saved by not gambling.

And for those who don’t want to give up gambling and insist that they don’t have a problem I guess the famous quote from Robert Anthony runs true: “Most people would rather be certain they’re miserable than risk being happy”.