By PETER DOUGLAS
This is the first in a series of candidate profiles the Mail will be featuring in the lead-up to the Federal Election.
AS a reformed gambling addict, Greens La Trobe candidate Tom Cummings says his passion for poker machine reform drives him.
Mr Cummings says back in the 1990s, when poker machines were new to Victoria, he found himself very quickly, and almost unknowingly, spiralling into a major gambling problem.
Although he has suffered from some relapses, he believes staying active in promoting pokies reform has helped him to beat his addiction.
And he believes there is much more work to go yet, with more than $120 million lost in La Trobe annually on poker machines.
“I initially played for a couple of hours and won $20 and thought, ‘how easy is this’,” he said.
“Next time, I played for three hours and lost $200.
“I thought, ‘no-one can know about this and I have to win that money back’.”
Mr Cummings was officially launched as the new Greens’ candidate for La Trobe at a Party dinner last Thursday 7 April, with leader Richard Di Natale in attendance.
The Basin resident is a father of three, with a background in IT, who said he couldn’t wait for the chance to bring positive change.
“I was first inspired to politics due to my frustrations over (former prime minister) Tony Abbott,” he said.
“So in that regard, Mr Abbot has proven to be a fantastic recruiter.”
But it was when he was behind a successful push to ban headphones on poker machines in Victorian gaming venues that his path gained momentum.
“I was excited that I could actually make a difference,” he said.
“(Now) I believe I have the ability to stand up and say the hard things to bring about change.”
Mr Cummings said he is far from a one-issue advocate.
“Anything to do with equality I will stand up for, particularly marriage equality and Indigenous issues,” he said.
“I’ve been a big supporter of the Safe Schools program.”
Mr Cummings said he is particularly passionate about driving tourism to the area and agreed with, at least the notion of, counterpart Jason Woods’ recent proposal.
This involves reviving the Red Rattler trains, which would run from the CBD to Belgrave, as well as the construction of a $9 million Discovery Centre at Emerald.
However, he believed the ultimate proposal was flawed.
“If you look up news reports in an election year, there’s always a Discovery Centre promised somewhere,” he said.
“I like the idea of the Red Rattlers … but could pose problems with scheduling.
“They’re also easily vandalised and expensive to upkeep.”
Meanwhile, Mr Cummings believes the country is headed for a double-dissolution election in July this year.
Let us know your thoughts on candidates in La Trobe. Email editor@mailnewsgroup.com.au
