Barry O'Farrell may be backing the clubs in their poker machine war against Canberra but one of the Premier's new top advisers is about to recommend that the Gillard government press ahead with plans to put limits on the machines.
Peter Shergold, who was confirmed as the chairman of Mr O'Farrell's Public Service Commission yesterday, was appointed by the Gillard government in November to head the Ministerial Expert Advisory Group on Gambling. Its job is to advise the government on how to implement pre-commitment technology on poker machines in which people could nominate how much they are prepared to lose and over what period.