Poker machines are a problem

No matter how you feel about Julia Gillard, the Labor Party, Bob Brown, the Greens or the Liberal Party, Tony Abbott's latest proclamation that he would rescind the poker machine reforms is yet another reason why this man must not be made Prime Minister!

He has sat on the sideline and watched as the clubs have bankrolled a huge media campaign to make people think that they cannot survive without poker machines.

He has waited, just like his other announcements, until a poll shows a majority one way or the other then he pounces.

Whether you have the occasional flutter on the one armed bandits or are a problem gambler yourself, everyone knows poker machines are a problem in themselves.

Abbott does not care.

He doesn't care about broken families, stress, suicide or countless other social problems that poker machines have led to.

He cares about being Prime Minister.

Clubs Australia is not looking out for the average person's well being.

Make no mistake they are very, very worried about the reforms working.

Why else would they spend such huge amounts of money fighting it?

We have all heard the advertising about kid's sport being destroyed, clubs collapsing, huge unemployment, all because the grey army of the Central Coast would not be as easily able to put their pension cheques through these hideous machines.

Junior sport, senior sport, community services, charities and other organisations that would supposedly disappear were here long before the poker machine industry, so why would that change?

Perhaps if people weren't spending all their money on poker machines they might have a few spare dollars to give to these charities, just like they did before.

The only thing that should be rescinded is Tony Abbott's chances of being Prime Minister.

Email, 8 Nov 2011 Ross Cochrane, Woy Woy