Wellington is full of them – brightly blinking robots anchored in dark bars that suck the soul out of communities, especially Maori. PENELOPE SCOTT examines a social ill that needs to be fixed:
SHE saunters into the gaming area with a glass of beer in hand.
Black singlet, jeans, sneakers, worn-looking satchel. Her black pony tail is caught under the strap. Stale cigarette smell. Sad eyes scan. A casual hand gesture of recognition to an elderly man with a red cap sitting on a stool in the back corner. It’s not crowded. Only three machines out of the 18 are in use. Bass heavy music from the bar wafts around the corner.
She finds a stool. A $20 note slides into the machine slot. Buttons alight. Loud jingling bells, flashing plastic pyramids.
Her day. This will be the one – she will no longer have to worry about the kids, finally be able to pay overdue rent, gain status. And people will know who she is.
She is a 36-year-old Maori woman who lives in a two-bedroom house with her three kids and partner in Newtown, Wellington.
She is a stereotypical problem gambler.
Pokies or non-casino gaming machines have a huge effect on our society. From 2007 to 2009, more than $100 million was spent on pokies in Wellington alone.
They are addictive and the consequences affect not only the lives of individual problem gamblers, but also the lives of their families and greater community.
Maori are the most predominant ethnic group wasting money on these machines. They are four times more likely to be affected by problem gamblers than any other ethnic group in New Zealand.
The Ministry of Health says it is tackling the issue. The Problem Gambling Foundation continues to provide information to people affected by problem gambling.
Waste of money to the individual is not the only concern. Consequences include poverty, marriage breakups and criminal behaviour. The “strategies” don’t seem to be working.
The destructive nature of pokies was highlighted recently in the Wellington City Council’s review of non-gaming machines, which proposed a cap on the number of machines – one for every 300 people.
The council’s Statement of Proposal – Draft Gambling Venues Policy recognises pokies as the biggest problem : “In 2008, 80% of gambler callers to the gambling helpline and 64% of face-to-face clients cited pokies as the primary gambling mode.”
Problem areas identified by the report include Tawa, Johnsonville, Miramar, Karori and Newtown, where there are significant clusters of pokies. There are 72 machines in Newtown alone,
The proposed cap has had positive feedback, although some doubts about whether it is high enough.
Wellington city councillor Ngaire Best says the aim is to cut numbers slowly in the worst areas. She says although there is limited data on Maori communities and problem gambling within Wellington, the areas with higher Maori and Pacific populations are identified as being of concern.
“I think it would be reasonable to anticipate [that] introducing a population-based cap …will impact Maori communities, as it will the general population who fit within the risk factors identified.”
There is a growing crisis in whanau and communities throughout New Zealand.
The New Zealand Health Survey 2006/07 showed an estimated 18,400 Maori are problem gamblers or moderate-risk gamblers, and about 25,000 Maori experience problems caused by someone’s gambling.
In comparison to other ethnic groups, Maori bear a higher burden of experiencing problems due to someone else’s gambling, says Barbara Phillips of the Ministry of Health.
Maori spend almost twice as much on gambling as non-Maori, about $686 a year. Even more significant, since the Maori median income is half that of non-Maori.
Phillips: “The low socio-economic status of Maori means they are particularly vulnerable to problem gambling. Non-casino gaming machines, lotteries and TAB outlets are all disproportionately found in higher deprivation areas, and people living in more socio-economically deprived areas are significantly more likely to be problem gamblers than other people.”
On average, one problem gambler can effect five people (generally whanau or significant other), which suggests up to 239,000 people could be potentially adversely affected by Maori problem gambling.
Some consequences – the waste of money, for example – are apparent, but severe problem gambling can also lead to psychological disturbance, relationship break-ups, child neglect, financial ruin, criminal offending, imprisonment and suicide.
Media constantly portray such consequences. Only last month, Hawkes Bay Today reported the conviction of a young Napier mother who left her 6-month-old son in more than 25c heat while she played the pokies.
Although the effects of problem gambling are undoubtedly negative, there is one upside – one third of money taken by the machines is returned to the community.
Graeme Angler of Pub Charity says the way revenue from pokies operates is that money gambled in a particular community goes back into that same community. “Five percent goes to national organisations and a second strategy means that a wide section of community groups benefit. Therefore, there are a lot of Maori and ethnic groups that benefit.”
But the Internal Affairs Department says 40%-50% of gambling money from Wellington comes from the identified areas of concern (Tawa, Johnsonville, Miramar, Karori and Newtown) and although some flows back into these areas, a lot is put into wealthier ones rather than in the lower socio-economic specified areas.
If Wellington City Council goes ahead with plans to decrease machine numbers, the eventual decline will mean less money for community groups.
Auckland lawyer Moana Jackson says there is a need to get rid of machines from communities. He says gambling has long been a part of Maori life, but was often community-based social activities such as housie or poker schools where the benefits flowed back to the marae or hapu. Now the attitude is that modern pokies are a glamorous activity.
“When it became industrialised, it got marketed and sold as this glamorous activity and when you do that the costs then get swept under. For years smoking was a glamour activity. It was cool to smoke. It took a long time to break that down, but I think the same process is happening with gambling and that needs to be broken down as well.”
The Problem Gambling Foundation says Maori have become involved in gambling for a variety of reasons, including the lure by advertising, a way to deal with stress, social entertainment, and the hope of “winning big”.
Maori women are specifically at risk of becoming problem gamblers.
Laurie Morrison’s article Pokie gambling and Maori women: Friend or foe? says Maori women are likely to spend six times more a year on gambling than non-Maori women.
“Maori women make up a disproportionate share of social beneficiaries, are frequently from low socio-economic regions and often live away from their whanau and thus have limited support networks. Maori women are more likely to be poor than any other group in Aotearoa-New Zealand today, including the elderly.”
Maori women who are unable to meet the basic needs of their whanau and rely on government assistance for children often use gambling as a rationale for this need and to supplement income and improve financial status.
Currently, Maori women see far more positives associated with gambling than negatives and this perception needs to be adopted within promotions and programmes.
Suggesting suitable interventions, Morrison says Maori women’s perceptions of gambling need to be better understood.
“Employment and income opportunities, increases in positive social support, and affirmation of Maori women being valued for who they are, all need to be targeted in order for Maori as a culture and the people of Aotearoa-New Zealand as a nation to reduce the prevalence of harm from gambling.”
The Ministry of Health has incorporated various strategies to overcome the crisis of Maori problem gambling.
A Whanau Ora strategy is employed by the Ministry to provide help and information for problem gamblers and their families.
There is a focus on working with kaupapa Maori. Of the Ministry’s 22 problem gambling service providers, 12 are dedicated Maori providers. A Maori 0800 phone-line provides counselling and information to gamblers and those affected.
The Ministry’s Six Year Strategic Plan says achieving Whanau Ora will continue to be a priority. The draft strategy includes an objective that “Maori families are supported to achieve their maximum health and well-being through minimising the negative impacts of gambling.”
The access rate to services shows the Ministry of Health is doing its job in providing help to gamblers and their families.
But is it enough?
Morrison has been busy this February. She hosted the first International Indigenous Problem Gambling Symposium in Rotorua and attended the National Gambling Conference in Auckland.
TARIANA TURIA (ODT)
The Rotorua conference was a great step forward in considering the effects of problem gambling on indigenous communities. Themes discussed included creating healthy communities in healthy environments, transformation of society and the economy, and new frontiers in knowledge.
Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia told the conference the challenge was how to transform people’s lives to help them take back more control. “Innovation lies with both whanau themselves – to encourage them to become more self-determining – and with the agencies of the state to support a more holistic approach.”
Back at the Newtown pokie bar, the woman in the black singlet and jeans stands slowly from her machine. Satchel over shoulder, she walks out onto the footpath, adjusting her eyes to fading light.
Maybe tomorrow will be her day.
