Arabic version: خطة إسكان في دير بارك تثير مخاوف بشأن ماكينات القمار

According to ABC News, residents in Deer Park are worried that a proposed 500-home development in Melbourne’s west would sit next to venues with poker machines, despite welcoming additional housing. The land, formerly the site of an explosives depot, has stood empty for years.

Local resident Graeme Blore said the proposal lacked an alternative community hub and raised concerns about gambling harm. He pointed to losses in the Brimbank local government area, where punters lost $185 million during the last financial year. The Deer Park Hotel, beside the proposed development, recorded $19.5 million in gambling losses, while the Deer Park Club, less than a kilometre away, recorded another $17 million.

Mr Blore has campaigned against the plans for years and has joined the fledgling West Party. The party wants to reduce what it describes as addictive poker machine features, including alarms that can make losses sound like wins, and change the rate at which machines can spin. Werribee candidate Paul Hopper said the party was not seeking to outlaw poker machines altogether.

The development debate comes before Victoria’s November state election, with parties taking differing positions on gambling reform. Victoria’s treasury collects $1.5 billion in pokies taxes each year, while the social impact of problem gambling in the state, for which pokies are the biggest contributor, has been estimated at $14 billion. Laws enabling carded play have passed and a trial has been held, but the wider rollout was delayed and trial results have not been published.

Premier Ben Carroll has backed the scheme, while the Coalition has said it would release the trial results if elected and consider technology to reduce gambling harm. The Greens want poker machines phased out and tougher betting limits introduced in the meantime.