12 December 2024

For many of us, 2024 ends on a frustrating note with underwhelming government responses to two forms of addiction that cause damage and distress in every community in New South Wales: drugs and gambling.

So many of us have had a loved one who has grappled with addiction and understand the despair and misery that comes with the struggle of getting effective and compassionate treatment when and where they need it. We know that this demands a systemic response from our leaders.

But as one of hundreds of representatives attending the so-called Drug Summit convened by the NSW Premier last week, I walked away feeling like an extra in a movie where the real action had already been filmed elsewhere.

The Premier had reluctantly committed to setting up the crowd scene before the last election. Those attending brought hope and evidence. They generously shared their knowledge and lived experience. But the Summit was over before anyone yelled ‘Action!’ with the government pre-emptively closing off any meaningful shift to a public health approach.

While we had a keynote speaker reflecting on the failure of decriminalisation in Portland, Oregon where that nation’s opioid crisis confounds the issue, there was no talk of successful international examples such as that in Portugal.

As the Summit wore on, we heard frustrated voices exploding with anger, feeling as though the whole process had been set up to manage an issue rather than to genuinely confront it.

These were echoes of the feeling I’ve had working on the government’s taskforce on gambling reform, which risks also being a political response to a commitment from former Premier Perrottet.

NSW is the pokies capital of Australia and the taskforce set out to achieve a long overdue outcome of reducing gambling harm and money laundering. We have a chance to give people greater control over the way they use pokies, make clubs and pubs safer for punters and staff plus address money laundering.

But the cashless gambling trial risks becoming a much smaller test of how to make the least amount of change possible without disrupting the gambling industry.

Again, the process sidelined sensible initiatives such as banning poker machines after midnight, a practice that experts agree is purely serving the exploitation of problem gamblers.

The common thread running through these two pressing social issues is one of the limits rather than the horizons of government ambition.

I think this malaise is about more than this particular state government. Right now, the very idea of government is in a funk, with low trust and broken models of engagement driving community disconnection and a cycle of despair.

While it is easy to get angry and show our justified disdain for those abrogating their responsibility, this risks becoming a form of self-loathing as government is really just an expression of our collective will. Maybe a better response would be to treat government like a friend or loved one who needs our help.

We could start by recognising the self-destructive patterns of behaviour, starting with an addiction to revenue and the sugar-hit of easy tabloid announcements. As lived experience advocates attested at the Drug Summit: in the midst of addiction, it is impossible to think clearly and make good decisions.

We could recognise the problematic patterns, encouraging government to break off with the toxic relationships with the shock-jocks and tabloid editors who seduce you into believing they are your friend.

And we could look at simple practical steps to rebuild trust like encouraging government to really listen to the people it purports to serve and focusing on their needs.

My humble suggestion for 2025 is to convene a special Government Summit where we all gather to better understand the lived experience and destructive behaviours of our elected representatives.

Nothing should be off the table as we look at ways of confronting the crisis in trust, filling the gaps in evidence, and finding the will — and funds — to help government be its best self.

When someone is doing such wilful damage to themselves, none of us should just look the other way.

NCOSS spoke to Stu Cameron, CEO of Wesley Mission, about winning gambling reform in NSW.

Tell us a bit about the services your organisation provides?

Wesley Mission is a 212-year young church and community services organisation — our first homelessness service was pioneered in 1815! We work across NSW with around 40% of our activity outside the Sydney basin. Through the incredible commitment of around 2,000 staff we offer a wide range of 60 or so different services, with an emphasis on supporting children, young people and families, harm reduction programs and crisis support services.

What is it about gambling that makes reform such a wicked policy issue?

There is not a week that goes by where I don’t hear heart-wrenching stories of gambling harm. With saturation levels of poker machines in NSW, our state is the epicentre of gambling harm, not only in Australia, but the world. For more than six decades gambling reform has been a ‘no-go’ zone for state governments, fearful of the influence of a cashed-up and powerful gambling lobby. Right now, we are experiencing a political window where we could see real and substantive reform that will benefit hundreds of thousands of NSW residents.

What did you learn about government from participating in the trial?

I do not underestimate the complexity for government and its agencies in managing a wide range of stakeholder expectations. It was an honour and privilege to be invited to participate in the Independent Panel for Gambling Reform, and to elevate the voices and hard-won expertise of our frontline workers and others in our conversations. I believe the Minister is genuine in seeking proportional and substantive reform of gambling in our state, focussed on harm reduction. His department did an excellent job in resourcing us through a process that involved a lot of reports and a very tight timeline. The evidence is in and is overwhelming in support of substantive harm reduction reforms in NSW. The question now is whether there is the collective political will.

How important are the experiences of the people you support in anchoring better policy?

The voices of those with lived experience are vital in any conversations considering social policy reform. We made the inclusion of a lived experience panel member a condition of our involvement in the Independent Panel for Gambling Reform and saw time and again how compelling their contribution was in the ensuing deliberations. Policy development that does not take into consideration lived experience will always be less than it could or should be, and at worst, counterproductive.  

How can community service organisations better support each other when you are confronting specific political struggles like gambling reform?

Our collective voice will always have multiplied impact. Our ‘Put Pokies in their Place’ campaign now has 40 community and other organisations on board, and when we approach key decision makers, this collective and aligned voice opens doors and ears, exponentially increasing our credibility. We will never have the financial resources of the gambling industry, for example. What we do have is the moral and social justice imperative, as well as our collective experience and voice.

Finally what was your highlight of 2024?

As CEO of Wesley Mission, I get a front-row seat in seeing the transformative impact of our frontline staff. There have been so many stories this year. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Wesley Aunties and Uncles, a mentoring program that supports children and families needing some additional support. I met Taylor, now 28 years old, who was linked with the program when she was five years old. She shared with me the profound impact it had on shaping her life, including planting the dream of university studies. She continues to connect with her ‘Aunty and Uncle’ today, and today serves as a senior leader with a children’s charity. I love that!

Homes NSW is seeking input to their Discussion Paper on the issues and challenges impacting the housing and homelessness system. This will inform their 10-year Homes for NSW Plan, to be released in early 2025.

NCOSS is preparing a response to the paper, due by 17 January 2025. If you have some thoughts and are interested in contributing to our response, please contact Andrea Angeles, Policy Lead at andrea@ncoss.org.au by Thursday, 9 January 2025.

More information on the plan is here.

We will endeavour to add it to an edition of NCOSS e-News (goes out every fortnight on Thursday morning). Deadline for content is 5:00pm on Monday, the week of publication. This is the last e-News for the year. The next deadline is Monday, 20 January 2025.

NCOSS gratefully acknowledges the support of