Yet another Aussie Steve wants to enter federal politics. Why am I not surprised?A chunk of Stephen Mayne's announcement emailed out in the early hours of this morning:
Shareholder activist, local government councillor, Crikey founder and former Liberal staffer Stephen Mayne turned 41 today and announced he is running as an independent candidate for the Senate in Victoria on a Nick Xenophon-style anti-pokies platform after the Rudd-Gillard government failed to act on sweeping Productivity Commission recommendations.
Mayne says Australians are the world's biggest gamblers on a per capita basis and Victoria's biggest pokies venue, the Woolworths-run Werribee Plaza Tavern, is located in Julia Gillard's seat of Lalor. He also says the family of the third Liberal-National Senate candidate in Victoria, Julian McGauran, owns a pokies venue, the Millers Inn, in Julia Gillard's home suburb of Altona where gamblers lost a staggering $13.2 million in 2008-09.
"Pokies are arguably the greatest social scourge in Julia Gillard's working class seat of Lalor, but she doesn't seem to care. At least Kevin Rudd declared he 'hates' the pokies before failing to do anything meaningful," Mayne said.
Lalor takes in the local council areas of Wyndham and Melton where working class people, many of them vulnerable females, lost $79 million and $42 million respectively on the pokies in 2008-09.
Mayne is calling for the Labor Party to sell the four pokies venues it owns and runs in Canberra and he'll be directing preferences to which ever party declares the toughest action against pokies in this campaign with the Productivity Commission recommendations being the benchmark which needs to be followed.
"If the Productivity Commission recommends a $1 maximum bet and the Tasmanian Liberals took that policy to the recent state election, then there is no reason why the two major Federal parties can't do likewise," Mayne said.....
Mayne says Australians are the world's biggest gamblers on a per capita basis and Victoria's biggest pokies venue, the Woolworths-run Werribee Plaza Tavern, is located in Julia Gillard's seat of Lalor. He also says the family of the third Liberal-National Senate candidate in Victoria, Julian McGauran, owns a pokies venue, the Millers Inn, in Julia Gillard's home suburb of Altona where gamblers lost a staggering $13.2 million in 2008-09.
"Pokies are arguably the greatest social scourge in Julia Gillard's working class seat of Lalor, but she doesn't seem to care. At least Kevin Rudd declared he 'hates' the pokies before failing to do anything meaningful," Mayne said.
Lalor takes in the local council areas of Wyndham and Melton where working class people, many of them vulnerable females, lost $79 million and $42 million respectively on the pokies in 2008-09.
Mayne is calling for the Labor Party to sell the four pokies venues it owns and runs in Canberra and he'll be directing preferences to which ever party declares the toughest action against pokies in this campaign with the Productivity Commission recommendations being the benchmark which needs to be followed.
"If the Productivity Commission recommends a $1 maximum bet and the Tasmanian Liberals took that policy to the recent state election, then there is no reason why the two major Federal parties can't do likewise," Mayne said.....
Full list of all political and corporate elections contested by the newest Steve.
1 comment:
why worry about pokies there are more important things destroying our country like allowing political donations
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