Council set to roll the dice for a shot at fewer pokie slots

Poker machine control debate in Noosa

Tewantin Noosa RSL CEO Phil Stephenson and administration manager Julie McLaws celebrate the new gaming room opening at the club earlier this year. Picture: Alan Lander

ONE councillor who admits he likes a flutter on the pokies has voted against moves by fellow councillors to be the first Queensland council to attempt restricting the growth of gaming machines in Noosa.

Councillor Jess Glasgow on Monday opposed a move by Noosa Council to obtain advice on how it might regulate poker machine numbers through its planning provisions and by possibly introducing charges to deter further poker machine expansions.

This debate comes as the Tewantin Noosa RSL club looks to remove a council condition limiting the club to 180 machines, which allowed for its recent building expansion.

This is after the Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation agreed for the club to increase its number of machines to 195.

Mayor Tony Wellington moved a decision deferral motion.

"I think it behoves us to investigate this thoroughly in the hope that we may be able to provide some limits to the number of gaming machines in our particular community,” he said.

"It's a tricky one really, because I think what I'm sensing is that all my fellow councillors have concerns about the community impact of gambling.”

Cr Wellington said as well as planning considerations there was "our duty of care to the community and the impact on the community ofgaming”.

Noosa would be the first local government in the state "taking this challenge head-on” through a proposed new policy”.

"The problem is, state governments are hooked on gambling revenue, they're unlikely to act,” he said.

Cr Wellington said in Victoria - where gaming machines were in pubs and clubs, as is the case in Queensland - the prevalence of problem gambling was three times that of Western Australia, which limited these devices to casinos.

He said Victorians lost $846 million in one year to poker machines "whereas the (gaming community) donations, gifts and sponsorship amounted to just 2.2 per cent of that”.

CrGlasgow said people did gamble responsibly.

"I'm one of them, I like to put a dollar or two in the poker machines here or there,” he said.

"I won't support anything that's going to further stop this (poker machine expansion).”

Cr Glasgow said clubs and poker machines provided jobs for 60,000 people.

"Whether we've got one, 21 or 101 (extra) poker machines, people are still going to gamble, there's still going to be problems in society, there's still going to be people who gamble responsibly, much like all of us,” he said.

He said putting up more deferrals was "just putting more red tape up”.

Cr Glasgow said the RSL was "already a good club and it's shown it's working to the community's needs”.

The RSL in the past five years donated more than $1.9 million to community groups and in the past two financial years handed over more than $400,000 in cash or in-kind contributions.

Club chief executive PhilStephenson said for more than 20 years the RSL had "refocused its operations to guarantee that it provides meaningful community benefit” and gaming was the key source for donations.

"The club employs 95-plus staff and predominantly sources goods and services from within the local community, which has a very positive impact on the local economy,” he said.

Mr Stephenson said the provision of welfare services and financial assistance to more than 400 servicemen would be "unduly impacted” if the club's revenue stream was "negatively affected”.