Northern Beaches councillor Pat Daley explains why his application for AHA boss is ‘not hypocritical’
An anti-pokie Northern Beaches Councillor has hit back at claims his stance was hypocritical, given he had twice applied to be the boss of the NSW branch of the Australian Hotels Association.
Manly
Don't miss out on the headlines from Manly. Followed categories will be added to My News.
COUNCILLOR Pat Daley has hit back at claims his bid for a spot on the board of Dee Why RSL was hypocritical, given he had twice applied to be the boss of the NSW branch of the Australian Hotels Association.
Cr Daley confirmed he had applied for the chief executive officer role but said he did so hoping he could make positive change.
“When serving on Manly council 14 years ago I was leading the charge against alcohol- and drug-related violence in and around Manly hotels,” he said.
“At the time the NSW branch of the AHA asked me to apply for their CEO position.
“When I discovered that members of the AHA were not prepared to change their business model I withdrew my application.
“They did approach me a second time, however the result was the same.”
On Wednesday a ClubsNSW spokesman hit back at Cr Daley’s push for a seat on the eight-person RSL board, which has come under fire over the number of poker machines at the club.
The spokesman suggested Cr Daley should not vote on the council’s upcoming gambling harm minimisation, set for the August 28 council meeting, due to a conflict of interest if he was running for the board.
But Cr Daley said he would remain in the chamber to vote on the issue.
“I will not be bullied or intimidated by ClubsNSW or pressured by anybody,” Cr Daley said.
“I will be proceeding with my joint motion with Greens councillor Natalie Warren regarding poker machines. The motion calls for a Northern Beaches Council poker machine harm minimisation strategy.”
He acknowledged a longstanding relationship with the AHA and ClubsNSW.
“I have always been trying to encourage them to change their business model and, similarly, I worked very closely with the club industry in setting up the establishment of the first problem gambling centre in NSW at Farifield. I worked closely with Fairfield RSL 10 years ago.”
The ramping up of activity against poker machines follows the death of Gary Van Duinen, who died by suicide after a gambling binge.
Lifeline 13 11 14