ATM ban a recipe for violence

Calls to ban ATMs from licensed premises by anti-gambling campaigners Nick Xenophon and the Rev Tim Costello are a recipe for muggings and gay bashings and could be the final nail in the coffin of Sydney’s gay scene.

All too often GLBT people are sought out by muggers who see us as soft targets unlikely to put up a fight.

All too often gay bashers steal from victims as a further way to humiliate them.

One in four of Australia’s automatic cash points is in a pub, bar or club. Around Oxford St this proportion is far higher.

If this ill thought through push becomes law, patrons of gay venues will be forced to run a gauntlet of homophobic thugs every time they need to get money out.

The inevitable crowds that will form at ATMs will be obvious flashpoints for violence, with gays and lesbians and those that are hostile to them forced to queue together.

As a result many of us will be tempted to carry larger sums of money to reduce the time we have to spend outside venues -” making us even more lucrative targets. A particular issue will be the end of the night when intoxicated persons are trying to get cab fare, just as alcoholic thugs are finding their wallets dry.

Combine this with the NSW Government’s pub lockouts and it’s a nightmare waiting to happen.
Yet there is a simple solution to the issue of problem gambling in Australia -” not just for the pokies but for all forms of legal gambling -” require gamblers to obtain a specific licence to gamble.

Make it a smart card they need to swipe to access the gambling areas of licensed premises. Make them show the card when betting at the TAB, or buying scratchies or lotto tickets at the newsagents.

If a gambler comes to recognise that they have a problem they can cut it up -” immediately denying them the ability to gamble.

And when problem gamblers break the law to fund their addiction, let police or courts strip them of their cards and their right to