The Anglican Dean of Hobart has channelled Donald Trump in his Christmas message, wearing a red cap proclaiming "Make Christmas great again" and calling for the Tasmanian Government to reduce the number of poker machines.
The Very Reverend Richard Humphrey said in a politically-themed Christmas message he wanted people to "turn from fake news to the really good news of Christmas".
"We have been hearing a lot about how to make Christmas great again in the papers," he said.
"Our [Hobart City] council tells us it comes by having a bigger Christmas tree than Launceston, the Premier tells us it's by letting the public service celebrate Christmas, but really it is about looking at Jesus.
"That's the way we make Christmas great again."
Reverend Humphrey also used his Christmas message to call on Tasmania's Premier to take action on pokies.
"It is all very well for our Premier to be saying that we should be able to celebrate Christmas, but we need to make room in the inn for there to be no pokies as well, these kind of things are related," he said.
"We think the damage that is being done by pokies in some of our poorest and most needy suburbs needs to be addressed.
"We would support the calls of Anglicare and other agencies for reducing access to the pokies because of the damage that they cause to families and communities."
Poker machines are shaping up as a major election issue, after Labor announced earlier this month that if elected it would remove electronic gaming machines from Tasmanian pubs and clubs by 2023.
Reverend Humphrey said he understood if the political theme of his message drew criticism.
"Some people have criticised us for doing something they see as political, but churches have been doing this from the beginning," he said.
"The very word 'gospel' is a word that was used to announce the coming of a new emperor — it is a political word."
'Excessive availability' of pokies 'not healthy', Catholics told
Catholic Archbishop of Hobart, Julian Porteous, said the availability of poker machines needed to be examined.
"I think excessive availability of them is not healthy, it is not good," he said.
"There are many families who suffer because people get addicted to gambling through poker machines.
"I certainly think we need to look carefully at how accessible they are.
"I am not saying they need to be completely banned, but I do think we should restrict their availability so that the most vulnerable are not caught up in excessive use of them.
"2018 will be the time for an election, and I have confidence in [Tasmania's political] leaders to engage with the community and understand the needs of the community."
