How can we educate ourselves to lessen gambling harm?

WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK 🎟️

• EVERY DAY TO SUNDAY 12/10/25, 10AM TO 5PM | Tesselaar Tulip Festival

• SATURDAY 11/10/25, 11AM-6PM | Holy Spirit Fete

• TUESDAY 14/10/25, 7.45-10PM | Suzette Herft @ Victorian Folk Music Club

📰 THIS WEEK’S HEADLINES

🎰 “Grooming” future gamblers: Eastern Melbourne counsellor says we have to stop selling betting as exciting

Each gambling counsellor Kevin Chan says helping people resist the urge to gamble is only part of the solution — governments also need to act to stop the growing normalisation of gambling culture.

Chan said it was “heartbreaking” to hear clients — from 20-year-olds on sports betting apps to retirees spending their pensions on pokies — talk about feeling suicidal.

“It breaks the whole family apart,” he said. “I can support a client, I can support a family, but more and more people are being harmed by our environment.”

Chan said today’s gambling apps, such as those produced by the TAB and Ladbrokes, are becoming more interactive and “gamified”, designed to hook younger users.

“We’ve been grooming generations to think gambling is part of life and is normal to do, but they were never given the tools … to understand … even the value of money,” he said.

Chan said the rise of social media influencers such as MrBeast and Logan Paul, who promote wealth and winning, fuelled the idea that chasing dopamine hits is normal.

“We’re just prone to these new stimulations — we enjoy them and we keep asking for more,” he said.

While services like Each play a key role in supporting individuals, Chan said governments must do more to teach children early about gambling harms.

“It doesn’t look like there are a lot of government initiatives yet,” he said. “As parents and community members, can we find ways to educate ourselves?”

Chan said RSLs, pubs and clubs are often seen as a refuge for people escaping family violence.

A 2020 Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety study found 16 per cent of women affected by intimate partner violence had used gambling venues to escape violence at home.

If you or someone you know needs help, call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Gambler’s Help (1800 858 858), SuicideLine Victoria (1300 651 251) or Lifeline (13 11 14).

🐨Where did the koalas in Warrandyte State Park go?

Koala populations have called Warrandyte State Park home for decades, with Pound Bend Reserve known as a popular koala-spotting area. There, Manna Gums hug the riverbank of the Yarra River, a popular food choice for the national icon.

However, comments from locals and growing unrest online suggests koala sightings in the area have decreased over the last decade.

Members of Friends of Warrandyte State Park, a volunteer group focused on conservation and rehabilitation of native bushland, told the Eastern Melburnian numbers of koala sightings have certainly dropped off.

So, what has happened to the koalas in Warrandyte State Park?

“Almost all members had seen koalas locally, but not in the last 10 to 15 years,” a Friends of Warrandyte State Park spokesperson said.

“Observations were at Pound Bend Reserve and other locations within Warrandyte State Park, with an outlier at Park Orchards.

Further afield, the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) records koala numbers in federal electorates across Australia where koalas are known to exist.

Warrandyte State Park falls in the Casey electorate, where about 86.8 percent of koala-friendly eucalypt forests remain.

However, it’s believed there are fewer than 100 koalas that now call it home.

It’s believed five to ten koalas call the neighbouring Menzies electorate home, and available koala-friendly habitat is estimated at 46.9 percent.

According to the AKF, fire burning down habitats and dieback - the gradual dying of trees due to factors such as land degradation, rising underground water levels and exposure to weather - have played a role in population losses.

Natural environment non-profit Carbon Landscapes also said changing rainfall behaviours and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere due to climate change have altered the amount of protein and water in gum leaves – increasing the level of toxic tannins exposed to koalas.

Australian Koala Foundation chair Deborah Tabart OAM said she and her team have been contacting MPs, asking them to support a national Koala Protection Act.

“I don’t know if they're not interested,” she told the Eastern Melburnian.

“They are only interested in supporting the Biodiversity Conservation Act because the koalas are listed federally.”

According to the Foundation, the State Government opposed the protection of koalas with the view there is an overabundance of koala numbers in Victoria.

So, why would the Victorian State Government say there is an overabundance?

“We've got enough clear land in this country to do whatever we like without having to knock down another tree,” said Tabart.

“We argue that every koala in Australia should be treated equally under law.

“There is absolutely nothing in Victoria that protects koalas and their habitats. It’s outrageous.”

According to the Friends of Warrandyte State Park group, koalas in the area were “vulnerable to attack by dogs and motor vehicles”.

Tabart said she has seen the broader impacts human populations are having on the environment around the world, including monocultures, urban housing not being suited to current conditions and the greater risk of bushfires.

“I believe we should be writing human plans for management, not a koala plan.”

A spokesperson for Parks Victoria said there have been no “recent sightings of koalas in the park” and they “don’t have any koala count data available that would indicate current numbers of koalas in the park”.

SEEN THIS WEEK 🤓

The best beer gardens across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs to check out this spring

With the sun finally peeking out behind the clouds and rainy days, here are some new watering holes to check out and sit back with a pot, schooner or a pint of your choosing.

Please reach out if I’ve missed anything. If you go to any of these events please send through a photo and I can shout you out in an upcoming newsletter.

Where was I on Monday?

On Monday, I popped down to an iconic walking spot for dogs and their masters alike after I spotted an unusual “waste disposal” bin on Facebook.

While I appreciate the creativity of a local in creating a makeshift bin, this is obviously not the best solution and I hope the council or Melbourne Water can look into more permanent bins for dog waste.

I also put out the question to see who knew their hiking spots in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, asking our followers on Instagram and TikTok to tell me where this was.

The answer was…the Liverpool Retarding Basin in Boronia, which helps minimise flooding in nearby areas.

I would say it was a pretty equal split between this and Lilydale Lake.

Thanks for playing along and watch out for my next quiz video. I’ll make the next one harder!