Mayor says pokies create social problems as campaign begins to halt hotel’s bid for 40 machines

THE group behind a bid to install 40 pokies at a northern suburbs pub already takes more than $50 million from three nearby venues through gambling losses each year.

Krishna Batmesswaran, Nessie Sayar and Olivia Naidoo support the Whittlesea Interagency Taskforce on Gambling’s campaign to stop plans for 40 pokie machines to be installed at the Commercial Hotel.

ANTI-POKIES campaigners say the group behind a bid to install 40 electronic gaming machines at a South Morang pub already takes more than $50 million from the city of Whittlesea through gambling each year.

The Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group (ALHG) has applied to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) to install the machines at the Commercial Hotel, a move officially opposed by Whittlesea councillors at last week’s council meeting. It will be the first time pokies are installed at the venue, should the application be approved.

Victorian Primary Care Partnerships adviser gambling harm prevention Susan Rennie revealed the applicant is a subsidiary of Woolworths, which already has machines installed at three pubs across the city of Whittlesea.

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“Woolworths venues already take over $50 million in pokies losses from Whittlesea, they don’t need more,” Ms Rennie said. “This is money which will leave our neighbourhood and won’t come back.”

Ms Rennie said the ALHG owns the 305 machines at Mill Park’s Plough Hotel, the Bundoora Hotel, and the Excelsior Hotel in Thomastown, which accounted for almost half of the $111 million lost by gamblers at the city of Whittlesea’s 10 pokies venues in the 2015/16 financial year.

She urged the community to attend a public meeting this week to find out how to they can get involved in a campaign to stop the proposal.

“It is a great start (council’s rejection) but the VCGLR approves 95 per cent of applications that come before it, so the battle is far from won,” she said.

Whittlesea Mayor Stevan Kozmevski said the municipality already had 691 machines which claimed $275,000 each day.

“Poker machines have a terrible impact on our community and there are very clear links between poker machine losses and social problems including increased crime and family breakdown,” Cr Kozmevski said.

“These losses are not surprising as the poker machines are programmed to con — every push of a poker machine (button) is fixed so that users lose money.”

Commercial Hotel manager Natalee Melaney or ALHG representatives could not be reached for comment.

The Whittlesea Interagency Taskforce on Gambling will hold a public meeting at Mill Park Library, 394 Plenty Rd, on Thursday, July 28, from 7pm, to discuss the proposal.

To sign a petition against the bid, go to nopokiesatcommercial.org