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25 JULY, 2023
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Westies show off artsy side
Sally Walshe with Johanna Reveka Hurtado, Yoonjung Kim and Elzette Bester at the Connectivity Centre. (Damjan Janevski) 345025_01
Sally Walshe has launched her community art exhibition, Show Your WEST-SIDE, featuring a collection of work from local artists. Walshe, who is also known as ‘LaDY MoHaWK’ compiled more than 210 artworks from westies of all skill levels, including kids. Westies Elzette Bester from Brimbank, Yoonjung Kim from Footscray and Johanna Reveka Hurtado said the exhibition was a great idea. Bester was “chuffed” to be involved. “I have lived in the western suburbs for a long time, so it was a wonderful opportunity to get people talking and getting to know each other.” Kim’s piece, ‘Supreme ribbon and Australian animals’, reflects her relaxed state of mind which changed when she moved to the west. Hurtado has lived in the west for about a year after migrating from Venezuela. Her piece takes the form of letters which she sent out to her neighbours for them to express their best memories of living in the neighbourhood. The exhibition will run until August 11, at the Footscray Connectivity Centre.
Reforms ‘little and late’ By Hannah Hammoud Reforms for stronger gambling harm protections in Victoria have been welcomed by Brimbank, but council is continuing to push for further changes. Brimbank has the highest losses to electronic gaming machines of any Victorian local government area (LGA), recording losses of $128 million in 2021-22. The state government announced sweeping reforms on July 16, designed to prevent gambling harm and anti-money laundering with the changes expected to be in place by the end of the year.
The changes will introduce pre-commitment limits and mandatory carded play, as well as reducing load-up limits to $100, down from $1000. It will also be mandatory for all new electronic gaming machines to be slowed down to a spin rate of three seconds a game. All venues in Brimbank with poker machines will be required to close gaming areas between 4am and 10am. Councillor Virginia Tachos said while she welcomed the long-awaited reforms, they were simply not enough, with fears that funding for the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation (VRGF) would be cut.
“The LGA of Brimbank has haemorrhage gambling losses and remains to be the highest losers in gambling losses and the second most disadvantaged with the greatest losses recorded for the last decade,” she said. “… Whilst these reforms look really positive on paper, the government is not actually saying whether they are going to continue funding the VRGF beyond 2023.” Council said while the reforms will go a long way to minimising the detrimental social and economic impacts of gambling, there are a number of additional reforms that would contribute to further harm reduction. Council is urging the state government to
consider extending the reforms to include 12am closing, a lower daily EFTPOS withdrawal limit of $200, decreased maximum bets of $1 per spin, and the introduction of a ‘sinking cap’, where gaming machines are not replaced once entitlements have been forfeited. Brimbank mayor Bruce Lancashire said the community has been talking about the harms and damage caused by gambling for a long time. “My thoughts are with everyone who has an experience of gambling harm, and we should acknowledge that these reforms have been a long time coming,” he said.
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