‘We see the human cost’: Reverend Bill Crews joins call for cuts to pokies

Reverend Bill Crews has thrown his support behind an internal Labor Party proposal to significantly cut the number of poker machines in NSW, urging the Minns government to do more to counter the “human cost” of the $9.3 billion industry.

Crews, the Uniting Church minister whose Exodus Foundation has been a lifelong supporter of the disadvantaged, has backed a proposal to cut the state’s 88,000 poker machines by 50 per cent over the next 10 years.

The proposal, which could be voted on at NSW Labor’s state conference in July, was put forward by Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne. Gambling reform advocates within NSW Labor, including Unions NSW boss and Labor upper house candidate Mark Morey, have also put forward proposals calling for a significant cut to poker machine numbers to be debated at the conference.

Crews considers NSW Premier Chris Minns a friend and said he “really respects the premier”. He hosts him, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, at his free Ashfield restaurant each Christmas. But he said that he felt a responsibility to call on the government to do more about the matter.

“We see every day the human cost of poker machine addiction,” Crews said.

“There are people who are so locked into the poker machine that they literally wet themselves.

“They’re afraid to go to the toilet because poker machines are programmed to look like the next role of the dice is going to win.

“For the life of me, I don’t understand why governments refuse to take action.”

Minns has played down the prospect of significant action on poker machines, saying last week that while he was “sorry” about the number of pokies in the state, the cost of action would be prohibitive.

“I just caution against there being supposed buckets of money to compensate clubs if we were going to drive them out of business,” he said.

“We’ve inherited a situation where they are ubiquitous in our communities, and I’m very sorry for that.”

Poker machine reform was a key issue in the lead-up to the 2023 election, and the government has made changes, including a reduction in the feed-in limit for pokies.

However, it is yet to respond to recommendations from its own expert panel on gaming reform. Minns is likely to continue to face pressure to act on an issue that many within Labor feel he has been reluctant to touch because of the influence of the powerful clubs lobby.

Crews has first-hand experience with the power of the lobby. Fifteen years ago, when Clubs Australia launched a devastating marginal seats campaign against the Gillard government over its support for a mandatory pre-commitment scheme, it lobbied charities to offer them its support.

While some, such as Father Chris Riley, supported the lobby’s campaign, Crews told this masthead at the time that he had been approached by the lobby and declined. “I told them: I might love you, but I am not going to sleep with you.”

Crews likens the lobby’s influence to the National Rifle Association in America, saying: “They’ve become powerful and they ruthlessly exploit that influence.”

Former NSW Labor premier Bob Carr, whose decision in the late 1990s to allow poker machines into pubs led to an explosion in the number of machines across the state, has also joined calls from within the party for reform.

In an interview with The Australian Financial Review last week, Carr called for a super-profits tax on “grossly excessive” gambling earnings in pubs and clubs. He said that governments should do more to take on the clubs lobby.

Byrne said he welcomed Crews’ support for his proposal, which would also give MPs a conscience vote on reform in the state’s parliament.

“Tragically, many of the homeless and poverty-stricken people that the Rev looks after ended up that way because of poker machines,” he said

“NSW has more poker machines in the community than any jurisdiction on earth, and the simple fact is we must drastically reduce their prevalence if we want to reduce the harm they cause.”

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