Editorial: Two sides to every story

OPINION: It would be easy to have a knee-jerk reaction to the New Plymouth District Council's current review into its gambling policy. Naturally it will be much harder to reach an agreement that suits everyone.

The problems of pokie machine addiction are well known, as are the effects on the families and individuals involved. Like all addictions such as drugs, sex, food and alcohol, problem gambling cuts across social and political barriers to wreak havoc with people's lives. It's not uncommon for successful business people to be brought down by a pokie, horse or sports betting addiction.

And sometimes the innocents affected are far removed from the inner circle of the gambler's family and friends. Over the years newspapers have carried court stories about individual organisations which have fallen prey to desperate gamblers embezzling funds to feed their habit. In some cases pensioners with money they believed was safely in the hands of a solicitor's trust account have been left out of pocket.

But as terrible as these things are, the flip side is the right we all enjoy to entertain ourselves as we see fit. Gambling has been around for centuries but only a relatively small proportion of punters become addicted to the pastime so why should the rest of us suffer?

Also, the wider community benefits directly from our city's 388 pokie machines with $9.5 million being returned to various groups, though mostly sports clubs, since 2005.

On the other hand, between 2005 and 2008, 141 New Plymouth people have sought advice from the Problem Gambling Foundation although plenty more have had their fun without any undue side-effects, save losing a bob or two on the horses or pokies. On average the district spends $16 million on gambling every year but that figure and the number of pokie machines has been dropping since 2004.

So now the council is proposing a sinking lid gambling policy for New Plymouth. Simply, that means that over time there would be fewer pokie machines and fewer venues in which to play them dotted around the district. This would also apply to TABs but not Lotto outlets. On the face of it this seems like a good compromise to juggle our individual freedoms with a dash of social awareness.

But if we pander to the lowest common denominator we risk marginalising outlets with pokie machines while the majority is forced to suffer because a handful of gamblers can't control their urges. The council has a difficult task on its hands with this issue and the public consultation phase will likely polarise the debate. But in the end the community and most of the individuals in it have much to benefit from having the right to pick and choose where and when they can enjoy a flutter on the fruit machines.

- © Fairfax NZ News