Gisborne puts a spoke in pokies

The Gisborne District Council's move to restrict the number of pokie machines in its district is being held up as an example to other local authorities by the Problem Gambling Foundation.

Under the council's policy, if a pub or club forfeits its gaming machines, those machines cannot be reallocated to other venues in the district.

The policy is the result of an initiative by primary health organisation Ngati Porou Hauora.

Under the Gambling Act, the council introduced a policy last year capping the number of pokies at 245, with 27 allowed for new premises.

Like other local authorities, it is required to review the policy every three years.

But Ngati Porou Hauora challenged the council to review the policy after one year if it could produce evidence that pokie machines were harming the community.

The organisation surveyed 501 people, finding 22 per cent fitted the national definition of "problem gambler". Another 41 per cent said they were affected by gambling.

The findings were presented to the council last month and it voted to amend its policy.

Ngati Porou Hauora spokeswoman Jody Tapa said people's willingness to participate in the survey helped to bring about the change.

"It's been about unity and working together as a community," she said.

Six other councils have sinking lid policies, but Problem Gambling Foundation chairman Richard Northey said none were as restrictive as the one in Gisborne.

"It's a model example in terms of both the process and result."

Mr Northey said councils in cities such as Manukau, which has large numbers of pokie machines, would be wise to follow Gisborne's policy.

It is not the first time the district, which encompasses the small East Cape communities of Tolaga Bay, Tokomaru Bay and Ruatoria, has taken a bold stand on pokies.

Tolaga Bay has had no pokie machines for almost three years, since publicans Phil and Anne Cunningham got rid of eight machines at their Tolaga Bay Inn.

Mr Cunningham said the decision was hugely unpopular with the town's 870 residents at first.

"I thought I was going to have to get a bulletproof vest," he joked.

The couple ditched the machines because of operating costs and unease at the problems they saw the machines causing.

Mrs Cunningham said locals would gamble away their week's earnings on the day they were paid, leaving no money for food or rent.

Ngati Porou Hauora kaiawhina (support worker) Bill Aston said the Cunninghams were heroes.

"It was a brave stand to make."

He said the monitoring of machines in the district needed to improve because they continued to place stress on poor Maori families in particular.

But Ruatoria Tavern manager Joe Parata denied that his 14 machines caused trouble in the town, which has about the same population as Tolaga Bay.

"We haven't many problem gamblers," he said.

Mr Parata unplugged four machines last week, but not for the same reasons as the Cunninghams.

"They are just not as popular as they used to be," he said.

Tokomaru Bay, population 462, has six machines at the Tokomaru Bay United Sport Club.

Treasurer John Wauchop said the club would get rid of them because operating costs were increasing.

But he said individuals, not the machines, were responsible for problem gambling.

"We can't go around dictating how people should behave."

The pokie problem

* 22,159 machines nationwide.
* Players lose $1.2 billion a year.
* 85 per cent of people who seek help for gambling cite pokies as the problem.