The cost to the community is not taken into account, and I have to wonder if a government would allow such things if there were no taxes to collect from them.

I think not. 

Instead, they will spend a lot of money telling us there is help for problem gamblers. 

What is the government’s duty of care? Allowing programmed machines to take money from people. I still believe the Bendigo council has done the right thing fighting this and I thank them for standing up for those without a voice. 

We spend $44 million per year on these machines in Bendigo.

How much more can our community lose to greedy governments? 

Matthew Parkinson,

Maiden Gully

Where would you rather live, Mr Wiseman?

In reply to Peter Wisemans letter yesterday, one day after I had my contribution published, I would simply like to say the following. 

The opposition has never acknowledged the disaster of the GFC. It has treated the events in Europe as if they have no bearing on our economy at all, and generally suggests that we are happy little Vegemites in our little cocoon here in Australia – except when they are in government. 

Australia debt-free when Labor came to power? Well, it would have taken something extraordinary for it not to be, as the Coalition received an additional $400 billion dollars of revenue over and above normal receipts during their tenure.

The mining tax was introduced on a scale that would produce a dividend for the Commonwealth only on the profitability of the mining companies – of which, by the way, 83 per cent are overseas owned. I am surprised Mr Wiseman does not know this.

If, as Mr Wiseman claims, that Australia is on the brink of something “terrible”, why have we got a AAA credit rating, the first ever by an Australian Commonwealth government?

Why do we have 5.4 per cent unemployment, record investment,