June 24, 2013
Flavell defends gambling bill gutting
Waiariki MP Te Ururoa Flavell is defending his continued sponsorship of the Gambling Harm Minimisation Bill despite it being gutted by the Government.
Political Commentator Matt McCarten says the Māori Party MP has been completely humiliated, with National using his attempt to limit pokies as an excuse to loosen the rules.
He failed in his bid to get 80 per cent of pokie profits distributed in the communities the money comes from, and instead there may be a slight increase in donations from 37 to 40 percent.
Mr Flavell insists he made some gains by putting the issue on the table.
"We talked about player tracking to minimise harm. We have been able to put that in not by law but as a regulation and the rationalisation we got for that was technology changes so fast that what we put into law may well be redundant in the next breath, so regulation allows the minister and indeed the department to adjust accordingly and look at new forms of harm minimisation," he says.
Mr Flavell says new conflict of interest rules will make it easier to crack down on rorts by pokie trusts.
Copyright © 2013, UMA Broadcasting Ltd