Carol Kidu , this is where I disagree with you.
Banning poker machines should not be banned. Just because the study you supported showed all the negativities of gambling does not mean that poker machines need to be done away with.

If these people in the study don't have self discipline and lack every bit of personal control on what's good for them and what isn't then they need to be taught the basics of personal discipline.

Everyone knows that if you play with fire, then there's a chance that you'll be burned. We can't ban fires. Just like with gun control. The guns don't shoot themselves. It's the people who pull the trigger that can be dangerous.

Leave the poker machines alone and offer counselling instead to people who need direction in their personal life. Usually people who like to gamble all the time have addictive personalities. Gambling is one of the symptoms. These people are prone to anything.

Just like the saying goes... Too much of a good thing cn be bad for you. Well it sounds to me like too much gambling to anyone can be bad.

Save your discretionary funds for counselling, and education of subjects such as these.

You can't be the mother all the time... And taking a toy away from a person is not the answer as we all know because if that persons really really wants to play that bad then they will.

P.S. Think of the tourism industry that PNG wants to grow. Eventually, we may have casino's or first class hotels that feature poker machines. In almost every country and in practically every tourist resort you will find poker machines.I'd like the option to play. Mind you I'm careful with my money and woudn't throw it all away but I like the idea that if I wanted to enjoy a game at the poker machine that I could do so freely without you Carol taking that choice away.

The bottom line is ... Stick to the issues that are important again like education, counselling, and supporting important groupd that benefit society and don't try to make deisions for us adults just because the study you supported showed and focused only on the losers who gambled everything and lost to poker machines.

Such is life, it's alwasy a matter of choices and those people made the WRONG choices.

See ya.

You are right, people have to learn to control themselves.

The only problem is that this is an idealistic viewpoint. On certain things, quite a bit of the population never learns to control themselves.

There is a reason for government, and it is to look out for the public good.

The trouble that pokies cause the society in general exceeds their usefulness to society.

It is well and just for government to make a decision in this case.

There are far more trivial things that the government should stay out of, and let people learn to train themselves to behave on!!

Em i tingting bilong mi.

Tenk yu tru.

Tenk yu tru for your viewpoint. However I still stand firm on my opinion. You said that the government has to be there and thatit's purpose is to look out for the good of the people. Although I agree with this reason, I am continually dissapointed in her results.

You also said the trouble with pokies is that they exceed their usefulnes to society. Yes, in one sence that may be correct but there purpose is primarily for entertainment and I don't think when it comes to entertainment we can gauge. I believe in a free society. Already in PNG it is difficult to get things done. i.e get a passport, a licence for operating, a licence to do this and that. There is too much beauracracy already in the government.

If we leave the pokies alone and and let live and learn nobody will die. Pokies are non life threatening. It's just one of those issues that should not take up any government time. The government should spend more time on figuring out how to increase the value of th kina, create employment using the existing businesses already there, boost the education programs, provide supplies to the health dept, and finally resolve once and for all the conflict and uncertinly of the beautfil island of Bougainville.

You see what happens in our government is that there is so many issues of importance and very few people in parliment to do it. All of our needs have grown completely out of control. There is a million things to do. Nobody prioritizes by order of urgency. They do things by order of "importance" and naturally everything is important.... therefore there rarely is one issue that is ever settled. They have all these importnt things and none of it gets done. Unfinished and unpaved roads, school books not arriving on time, different dept threatening strikes and on and on... It's quite sad. Ting ting blo mi tasol.

O.k. now I have to do something important and that is get some work done!

Cheers and have a great day mate!

Now that the Gaming Board fiasco has come to light maybe some of you will change your mind about poker machines.As an excuse for their presence we were assured that revenue collected would be shared out between women,sports and youth projects in the places where there were poker machines.I can tell you now,in our small town,we have twelve poker machines and we have never received one toea of revenue-whether or not it has been given to our Honourable Member or not is another question but as we have the only 12 machines in his electorate it would be assumed that we would know.We have written and asked the Gaming Board but they have never seen fit to reply.One of the arguments about abolishing these evils is that "so many jobs will be lost"This is also a lot of hogwash as very few people are actually employed in a "Poker Parlour".The other argument is"How can we afford to compensate the site owners who have put so much money into this?Haven't they had enough already?Are you going to compensate all the people who bought fishing nets so their wives could sell the fish they caught in the markets in Moresby?