Liberals, Labor failure to consider pokies harm minimisation causes frustration in Legislative Council

Independent MLCs broadly supported these measures as being evidence-based ways of decreasing harm to problem gamblers without impacting recreational players, and to allow venues to implement them by 2028. Murchison independent MLC Ruth Forrest said she did not understand why the major parties would not support it, and that there was no guarantee of further […]

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House at crossroads after pokies failure

It’s a terrible cliché but Tasmania is really at the crossroads. The last few months of life in the corridors of powers has been a deeply unsettling experience. The carefully nurtured growth in the Legislative Council as a respected house of review no longer has a majority of Independent Members. When both major parties join […]

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Gaming Control Amendment (Future Gaming Market) Bill 2021

You can listen to me speak on my proposed amendment to Clause 155, Gaming Control Amendment (Future Gaming Market) Bill 2021 relating to EGM licence fees and taxes, as well as my reply to other members comments here. The transcript of this speech can be viewed here:  https://ruthforrest.com.au/parliament/speeches/legislation The tabled document referred to in my speech […]

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Labor, Liberals vote against scrutiny of pokies reforms in Legislative Council

An upper house member has claimed Tasmanians still have little knowledge of what pokies reforms will look like in the community even after two elections, but the government and Labor have blocked a move for further scrutiny. The Legislative Council voted eight to six against a motion to send the government’s pokies reforms to a […]

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