NSW Labor to adopt tougher pokies stance as Sydney inner west mayor says ‘momentum for real reform unstoppable’ | Gambling

New South Wales premier Chris Minns will take a tougher stance against poker machines at the next election after being forced to take that approach by the party’s left.

The motion, which is expected to be passed unanimously at the NSW Labor Conference on Sunday afternoon, will add to its policy platform a plan to take “decisive action” on problem gambling and the growing use of poker machines, amid accusations of operators’ rising profits and inaction on reform.

The motion, seen by Guardian Australia, includes a commitment to a moratorium on licensing new machines, requiring clubs making more than $20 million in profits from the machines to pay more tax, and a commitment to “significantly reduce” the number of gaming machines in the state within 10 years. The commitment will mean 50% of the machines will be retired.

The motion commits to the introduction of mandatory facial recognition in every gaming room and government-enforced policies to support a state-wide exclusion register reportedly I’m already working on it.

Labor sources said the Minns government, although not directly involved, was co-operating in the negotiations and was aware of the growing grassroots support for the motion brought by Labor left-wing mayor Darcy Byrne in Sydney’s inner west. This was negotiated by Mark Morey, a key member of the right wing and Unions NSW secretary.

Byrne told Guardian Australia that “the momentum towards real reform of poker machine vandalism is becoming unstoppable”.

“The sentiment in the Labor Party, as in all of our civil society, is that we must finally act against this scourge because too many people have been devastated by this gamble.”

Although Minns is not obliged to enact the policy in the motion, the move comes as Labor seeks unity ahead of state elections next March.

In a difficult moment for the state government on Sunday, the Labor left briefly hijacked the conference agenda to force debate on motions put forward by 56 local branches to repeal protest laws.

The entire left wing had supported the motion to repeal the two laws, but the debate slot was placed second by organizers as the last on Sunday’s agenda, with critics claiming it was a move to silence debate, ruling out the possibility of it being achieved.

Instead, in the part of the conference devoted to domestic Labor issues, Angus McFarland, secretary of the left-wing Australian Services Union (ASU), rose up with a motion that highlighted discussion of social justice and legal issues.

“It would be ridiculous if there was no time at this conference to talk about it. More than 150 branches submitted motions in this section, many congratulating the government… but many also calling on the government to do better.”

“Some of the newest [protest law] The changes were justified in the name of promoting social harmony. But earlier this year we all saw confrontational images of police breaking up peaceful demonstrations, including people praying peacefully outside this building,” McFarland said to cheers and applause from left-wing delegates.

Speaking against the motion, NSW Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said it was “yet another attempt by people on the left of our party to silence the air”, drawing applause from the right and the country’s Labor delegates.

Gerard Hayes, secretary of Labour’s right-wing Health Services Union (HSU), said: “We are protesting, every union in this room is protesting, we are getting results because of our protests and may I remind you all, people were out there protesting yesterday.” The proposal was rejected by the right-controlled conference.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s speech was marked by protests similar to those on Saturday, when two men unfurled a Palestinian flag as Minns entered the conference hall to speak. They were quickly removed by NSW police.

As the prime minister approached the stage on Sunday, two protesters hung a keffiyeh and a flag reading “Stop Weaponizing Genocide. Free Palestine” on a nearby balcony. These were not removed and the flag remained visible throughout Albanese’s speech. Another protester left the conference hall during the speech, wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

A potentially embarrassing debate over Palestine and the Aukus agreement was not expected to take place on Sunday; Discussing the party’s global affairs platform was last on the conference agenda.

Albanese touched on an “axis of grievance” forming between the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation at a weekend when speakers focused on the threat posed by Pauline Hanson’s party in NSW.

The prime minister, who is also under fire for federal inaction on gambling reform, left the conference ahead of a debate on NSW state policy.

The party’s policy platform, which is expected to be adopted by the state, calls for the late Labor MP Peta Murphy to “continue to lobby the federal government to ban all gambling incentives”, following the recommendation in her groundbreaking research report into the harms of online gambling.