Nick Xenophon’s SA Best pokies buyback scheme ‘political opportunism’

South Australian MPs are calling on the state government to launch a poker machine buyback scheme for pubs and clubs to help them through the coronavirus shutdown.

Nick Xenophon’s SA Best wants the state’s Liquor Licensing Commissioner to offer pubs and clubs at least $15,000 a machine in an effort to “retain and support” staff with the extra funds.

“We know the local hospitality sector, like many other sectors, has been hit by the COVID19 pandemic, and thousands of workers have either lost their jobs or have been put on forced leave by their employers,” SA Best MP Connie Bonaros told Adelaide Now.

“Here is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only throw a lifeline to dozens of businesses to help them retain their staff in these uncertain times, but also to tackle the scourge of gambling addiction.”

But the idea is being met with resistance from the Australian Hotels Association, which is concerned it would encourage online gambling.

AHA SA general manager Ian Horne said SA Best was “weeping crocodile tears”, describing the move as “political opportunism when the hotel and club industry is in crisis”.

“The big winner from the Australia-wide shutdown is online gambling,” he said. “SA Best just don’t get it.”

Attorney-General Vickie Chapman also rejected the notion of buybacks.

“Not only would a buyback scheme not help save thousands of jobs, given clubs and pubs are closed at the moment, the value of poker machines has decreased substantially, meaning clubs and pubs would lose the asset and also revenue in the long term,” she told Adelaide Now.

Sheridan Randall, 20^th April 2020