Yesterday Inner West Council convened a gambling harm minimisation roundtable at Marrickville Pavilion.
As well as councillors and Inner West Council staff, the roundtable was attended by the Director of the Office of Responsible Gambling, Alison Parkinson, the CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Sharon Dickson, as well as representatives from Gamble Aware, Wesley Mission and a number of local community organisations who deal every day with the harms caused by gambling.
Inner West Councillors Liz Atkins and Pauline Lockie chaired the forum which was the first to be convened since Covid restrictions were lifted. The President of the Petersham Bowling Club, and Inner West Citizen of the Year, George Catsi was also present. Mr Catsi is a leader in demonstrating that local clubs can build community and thrive without relying on gambling.
A number of recommendations came out of the roundtable about ways that councils can contribute to preventing and minimising harm from all forms of gambling. Some of these included the provision of information in Council services such as libraries and on the website in languages spoken in the Inner West, working with the Inner West Multicultural Network, the Refugee Welcome Centre and other services to make sure gambling awareness is part of dealing with all age groups from children to seniors, and internally with council staff, providing venues for events particularly during Gambling Awareness Week from 21 to 27 October.
It was also recommended that Council work with other councils such as Fairfield Council which have already been funded by the Office of Responsible Gambling to develop an online screening tool for community services and GPs.
Clr Atkins said, "It had been a productive meeting with a number of positive ideas which could be taken up by council, including advocating to the Federal Government for a ban on gambling advertising as recommended in the report of the Inquiry into online gambling and its impacts on those experiencing gambling harm led by the late Peta Murphy MP, You Win Some, You Lose More."
Clr Lockie said, "It was clear there was a bigger role for Council to play in preventing harm caused by gambling including ensuring that the roundtable takes place regularly in future years."
