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September 27th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda 
Andrew Wilkie has been urged to walk back his threat to withdraw support from the Gillard government if poker machine reforms fail. Picture: Gary Ramage
Source: The Australian
LABOR backbenchers are urging Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie to rethink his threat to withdraw support from the government if the Gillard government fails to implement his poker machine reforms by May next year.
Western Australian Senator Mark Bishop said Julia Gillard had acted bravely in addressing the “social evil” of problem gambling, and encouraged Mr Wilkie not to punish the government if it was prevented from introducing a nationwide poker machine pre-commitment scheme by a hostile parliament.
Senator Bishop said it was the first time in generations that a government had acted so vigorously to crack down on problem gambling, urging Mr Wilkie to allow his threat to “disappear into the mist”.
“Instead of threatening the government with all sorts of retribution if it should fail for reasons outside of its control, Mr Wilkie and others should be proud their Prime Minister is prosecuting this cause as strongly as she is.
“He needs to indicate to the government, in terms of his choosing, that the threat is finished.”
Labor Left convenor Doug Cameron told The Australian Online he wouldn’t give Mr Wilkie advice, but encouraged him to appreciate the government’s efforts on pokies reforms.
“The government is acting in good faith and Andrew Wilkie should understand and accept the government bona fides in this issue,” he said.
Greens Leader Bob Brown yesterday said Mr Wilkie would be wrong for proceeding with his threat to withdraw support for the government if the legislation was killed-off in the parliament.
He suggested the lower house crossbencher’s commitment to pull support, if mandatory pre commitment failed, was a key threat to the future stability of the government.
“That’s unwise of Andrew, and I don’t agree with him on that,” Senator Brown said.
“I can tell you that (Opposition leader) Tony Abbott might like Andrew Wilkie threatening the government, but we will not be doing it and we want to see government run its three year course.”
After last year’s federal election produced a hung parliament, Ms Gillard signed a deal with Mr Wilkie which linked his ongoing support for the government to the introduction of a mandatory pre-commitment scheme by May 2012.
However, the commitment to introduce mandatory pre-commitment technology – forcing poker machine users to set betting limits on high stakes machines – has provoked a multi-million dollar campaign by Clubs Australia, backed by the NRL.
AFL chief Andrew Demetriou yesterday distanced itself the league from the campaign, despite arguing there was insufficient evidence to show mandatory pre-commitment worked.
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