Office of the Mayor
Media release
26 April 2012

Convention deal needs more detail

Auckland’s Mayor Len Brown says the government’s proposal for a convention centre needs more detail before a full judgement can be made.

“Right now we are getting asked our opinion on something we don’t know enough about. The government needs to clearly explain as soon as possible what is being proposed so it can be properly assessed,” says Len Brown.

“I am very concerned about the negative impacts of problem gambling. If the government decides to go ahead with the SkyCity proposal, I would expect it to include strong measures to minimise harm.

The mayor has suggested a range of options that could be included in any proposal, should the government proceed. These include:
• On-Site Harm Minimisation Officers
24/7 on-site presence of harm minimisation officers trained and with the sole responsibility of identifying problem gamblers and intervening. Such officers would be paid by the business but trained and accredited by a problem-gambling provider. They could also have dual reporting lines (to the accrediting problem-gambling provider and the business).
• Pre-Paid Cards
Link to the ‘Action Card’ loyalty system a facility whereby gamblers can request pre-paid commitment cards, with a (daily/weekly) limit as a tool for managing expenditure.
• Harm Minimisation Screen Savers – to start play
All machines when out of use are set-up to have a screen saver with a stark harm minimisation message. To activate the machine a player would need to plug in a multiple button sequence (which would be explained on the screen).
• Screen-Saver – win activated
Change set-up of screens so that after a win of a medium-large size the harm minimisation screen-saver is activated, again requiring a multi-button sequence to reactivate the machine into play mode.
• Cash-in/ Ticket out
Introduce a system that requires cash to be fed into machines as currently, but set machines up so that medium-plus prizes are only paid out by ticket (which can only be cashed-up not reinvested).

“I would expect these measures to form part of Auckland Council’s final submission if the government proposes any legislative change.

“I am also concerned about the amount of money that goes back into community initiatives and believe that will also need to be looked at.

“The national convention centre is an important development for Auckland because it will bring in more jobs and economic development. The current lack of detail about what is being proposed isn’t doing that cause any good.

“My background has been to advocate for strong harm minimisation measures, such as a sinking lid policy for pokie machines in Manukau. However, the government can simply legislate for more so we need reduce the harm of any proposal that is eventually put forward.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media