Brimbank needs a multicultural think tank to help curb its addiction to poker machines, according to a former addict.
The municipality is set to become the state’s leading loser on pokies for the ninth straight year, with $131.9 million lost in the first 11 months of the 2015-16 financial year, with June’s figure yet to be counted.
Brimbank’s losses for 2015-16 were more than $17 million clear of the City of Casey, the next-worst ‘loser’ for the same period.
However, the final figure is expected to fall short of Brimbank’s record $145 million loss in 2011-12.
Former pokies addict Gabriela Byrne, now a Victoria University PhD student, said the issue needed to be viewed through a “cultural lens” in Brimbank.
“It’s a culturally diverse group in Brimbank,” she said.
“It’s difficult to address the problem unless you address it through a cultural lens. It needs think tanks with representatives from all the different cultures.”
She said simply “going and seeking help” did not work as some people in some cultures had too much pride to admit fault.
“You really have to put some resources into finding ways of decreasing the stigma under a very strong cultural perspective,” she said.
“Don’t think one thing works for all; it doesn’t. People are different in how they tackle life issues. We need different ways, different options for people.
“You can’t do it on a purely individual level; it’s not practicable.”
Ms Byrne said her own former pokies addiction was much like a long-term relationship that ended.
“It’s like a [broken] love affair; what on earth did I see in it?” she said.
The venues where most money was lost in the was first half of the current financial year were the Kealba Hotel ($9.4 million), Taylors Lakes Family Hotel ($8.1 million), Watergardens Hotel ($8.1 million) and the Deer Park Hotel ($7.9 million).
Brimbank has 946 poker machines.
