Push for pokies control

By Tania Martin
YARRA Ranges Council is a step closer to taking back some control over electronic gaming machines.
It is calling for the State Government to approve a planning scheme amendment that would see the council given the power to say where the machines are place and how long they are operated each day.
The council last Tuesday (8 December) adopted the long-awaited change and called for the Planning Minister to ratify it.
Chandler Ward’s councillor Graham Warren said despite this move to protect the community against the pokies blight, he wanted more to be done.
“I wish we had more control to stop these machines,” he said.
Since June last year, Yarra Ranges residents have spent more than $45 million on gaming machines.
Cr Warren said although he had friends who used the machines, he still found it hard to understand why the pokies are so popular.
“When you walk through one of these establishments you can’t see anyone enjoying themselves,” he said.
“There are a lot of people sitting there like zombies, throwing money down the throat of those machines and the social outcomes are dreadful.”
Cr Warren said the stark reality was that the pokie machines were there to revenue raise for the State Government and the few people who owned them.
“They are legal so we can’t do much about it and I wish we had more control over these things because they benefit nobody, “he said.
But Cr Warren said the amendment was the best step the council could take to wrestle back some control.
“I just wish we had a greater authority on where these things are going,” he said.
If the amendment is given the green light, there will be a number of restrictions on future planning applications for pokie machines.
They would not be allowed within 400 metres of schools, kindergartens, child care centres, libraries, medical centres, churches or the offices of private and public welfare agencies.
The change would also restrict machines from being installed more than 1.5 kilometres from any shops selling food or other goods that cater for day-to-day needs, railway stations, or any other gaming operators.
Lyster Ward Cr Samantha Dunn said in an ideal deal world there would be no machines in the shire but said the council has no real power to stop them.
“They suck millions out of our community and they give very little back and wreak havoc on our economies and families and I think this is the best way forward we have,” she said.
“I’d love to say ‘no get out of here’ but that’s not an option – I think this is the next best option.”
Ryrie Ward’s Cr Jeanette McRae said it was great to see the council’s gambling strategy in place.
Cr McRae said in the past 12 months in the shire residents had spent more than $40 million.
“$40 million – that’s absolutely extraordinary,” she said.
“Gambling represents 10 per cent of State Government income … that’s disgusting when it’s at the expense and misery of those who are problem gamblers.”