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Jackson tells Tainui to get out of gambling

Jackson tells Tainui to get out of gambling business

Alliance MP Willie Jackson has called on Tainui to pull out of the Hamilton Casino development and stop exploiting the Maori gambling problem.

Speaking in support of his Casino Control (Poll Demand) Amendment Bill, Jackson says that he finds Tainui’s investment in the gambling industry morally reprehensible. “I am appalled by Tainui’s investment in the exploitation of our people – it is nothing short of economic cannibalism.”

“What next? It might be iwi investing in private prisons, or maybe in the marijuana trade” says Jackson. “Tainui cannot create wealth by taking gambling money from their own people. They should get out of this business because it exploits Maori.”

Willie Jackson says that the promise of benefits for Maori in the gambling industry has never materialised. “The casinos are laying off workers not taking them on. The jobs that are available are low paid with poor conditions and no hope of promotion. When iwi gamble with a stake in casinos, all Maori lose.”

Willie Jackson’s bill, which gives local communities control over whether they have a casino and requires a survey of the social impact of any proposed development, was debated in the house late last night. It will come back to the house and be voted on after the recess.

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