Te Ururoa Flavell: Playing the game to get gambling changes through

Greetings again everyone.

This last week, the select committee considering our Gambling Harm Reduction Bill reported back to Parliament. At the heart of the bill was the desire to change the gambling legislation so as to ease the harm that pokie machines have on our communities.

This has been an ongoing priority for the Maori Party since day dot. We all know too well the enormous damage that pokies have done to our people - some studies tell us up to 16 per cent of the Maori adult population have a problem with gambling.

We're not just talking about the odd Lotto ticket or batons up. This is the crippling obsession with the one-armed bandit lifestyle - to such an extent that those caught in the grasp of addiction find themselves bereft of a family, a partner, in financial ruin and on the verge of psychological breakdown.

We are never one to ignore the obvious - and so we determined to take action to eliminate the social hazard of problem gambling from the lives of our whanau.

When it came time to negotiate a Relationship Accord with National after the last election, agreement to support our bill to the first reading was a specific milestone we achieved - and hence where we are today.

However, it became clear quickly our bill would not be supported - and so there were two alternatives. Either we could adjust it so we could get buy-in from National and still achieve some of the aims or leave it and let it die.

We are not and never will be inclined to hoist up the white flag of defeat and walk away. My view was that we follow it through to get some gains and satisfy the motivation for the bill in the first place.

The Minister advised me of his desire to make changes over and above what I had in place and wanted to maintain parts of my bill, and then add in new law which was outside of the scope of my bill to achieve the goal.

There was only one way to go and that was to support this strategy. So despite not getting everything we wanted, the law and rules are to be changed in order to assist whanau involved in this addiction, many of whom are Maori.

Was anything achieved? Yes indeed. The Labour Party spoke against it but that's a cheek. If they were so concerned about problem gambling, they would not be sending their people to the Sky City corporate box to watch test rugby.

Similarly, the Greens and the Harawira Party also spoke against our stand but they have done nothing to address the issue of gambling harming our whanau, so they can't really talk. That's all there is to say about it. At the end of the day, this issue is too important to let go of. I'm all for practical politics - making a tangible difference that will achieve change for all our whanau.

To other matters, I am continually amazed at the many different issues that arrive in my office. There is a huge range from council to government departments even to neighbours having a go at each other over the fence.

Just recently, I had a constituent who had issues with his employer. He had for some time been working but with no contract, no payslips and discovered he was being paid around $5 an hour. That is under the minimum legal wage. He knew that things were wrong but was a little concerned to follow up in case he was sacked.

He brought the issue to me and my staff followed up with the appropriate department supporting him as he navigated his way through things. A brief time after this, he took his case to the employer who promptly gave him a contract, back pay and the appropriate level of wage.

So if you have issues you need assistance with, please make use of my office. That is the job, helping people. Finally, in the midst of the fury and chaos of Tawhirimatea, stay safe, stay warm and look after all your loved ones - and the neighbours too.

I welcome your feedback. Email mpwaiariki@parliament.govt.nz; Phone 0508 924 274