Premier of Tasmania Peter Gutwein (Image: AAP/James Gourley)

Gambling with the future When Crikey covered the April Tasmanian election, we noted a lacuna in the debate. No one wanted to talk about the state’s policy on gaming. You could watch the Tasmanian Council of Social Service discussing poverty in Tasmania, but no one save Greens leader Cassy O’Connor wanted to talk about the role of gambling. And as James Boyce points out in his book Losing Streak, it’s not even as though it brings in a huge amount of tax revenue for the state — although it does contribute a decent amount to party coffers. Regardless, newly reelected Premier Peter Gutwein was able to withhold information such as the tax rates that would be applied to gaming until after the election.

Now we know — pokies in casinos will now be taxed at just under 14%, down from 25%, although Gutwein insists Federal Group will still be about $25 million worse off annually because of the end of the monopoly it’s had on gaming licences since the early 1970s. What’s most remarkable is — as anti-pokies campaigner Pat Caplice points out — Federal Hotels and the Tasmanian Hospitality Association had only been asking for a reduction to 20%.

Crossing the ALPs Guys, stop it. I can’t expend any more brain space trying to work out what you’re doing here, or why. Who is dodgily photoshopping Vin Diesel into a courtyard picture of Labor Party MPs — his giant oak tree arms and star quality only calling more attention to the fact that most of those people look like they’ve never stood up before — supposed to impress? That lots of people are doing something similar at the moment somehow makes it even less coherent.

(And seriously, don’t encourage this sort of thing: Ed.)

EV let your hair hang down What is it with Liberal Party culture warriors and electric vehicles? First Scott Morrison told us Bill Shorten was coming to take away our weekend because: “[An electric vehicle is] not going to tow your trailer. It’s not going to tow your boat. It’s not going to get you out to your favourite camping spot with your family.” (Something that wasn’t true, and he later denied saying.)

Now Minister for International Development and the Pacific and ACT Senator Zed Seselja has launched a leaflet campaign against the territory’s proposed incentives for electric vehicle use — using dodged-up stats to imply that the “average” EV price is over $100,000 (it’s not — that’s the median price) to oppose the implementation of free registration for EVs promised by Labor in the lead-up to the last election.

As The Driven points out, if Seselja is so concerned about state- and territory-level EV policies, perhaps he’d better bring that up with his colleagues in the NSW Liberals who “have gone several steps further, providing an exemption to stamp duty and a $3000 rebate for the first 25,000 cars — although these are limited to vehicles that cost less than $68,000”.

Suez pudding Today we bid a fond farewell to the Ever Given, the giant container ship that gave us all something slightly less apocalyptic to think about for a week at the end of March when it got wedged into the Suez Canal. After 106 days and with a compensation deal sorted, the Ever Given sails into history. We wish her well — but we’re almost sad to report she managed to get out of the canal without incident.