Furore over pokies

By Rosa Ellen
Updated November 7 2012 - 6:34am, first published November 27 2011 - 10:47am
PROTEST: Anti-poker machine protesters gather in Castlemaine on Saturday. Pictures: MATT WOBBLY
PROTEST: Anti-poker machine protesters gather in Castlemaine on Saturday. Pictures: MATT WOBBLY

ABOUT 500 anti-poker machine protesters rallied in Castlemaine on Saturday to protest against more machines in the town.Residents converged in the rain outside a railway goods shed, where Maryborough Highland Society plans to establish a gaming venue with 64 poker machines.Enough Pokies in Castlemaine chairman David Stretch said the turnout was a testament to the strength of will and passion in the community.“This is a dangerous proposal that will hurt people. It is proposed for a heritage building in the heart of our town. It’s an atrocity,” he said. Mount Alexander Shire mayor Janet Cropley addressed the crowd to explain where the council was at in its response to the gaming application.She said about $100,000 had been spent on responding to the requirements of the Victorian Commission for Gaming Regulation, which addresses the economic and social impact of gaming machines.Issues with the local planning scheme are still being considered by the council, including traffic management in the CBD.“I think the precinct is certainly going to have some pressure,” she said.“There are clearly some issues around just the land use permit.”In 2006, Mount Alexander Shire Council put through a planning amendment to stop more gaming machines in the Castlemaine or Maldon CBD.However, the rule did not apply to state-owned land, such as the area owned by VicTrack where the goods shed is sited.Cr Cropley said the council also heard the community’s concerns over the Maryborough Highland Society choosing an outside town for its gaming venue.“We are talking about a community organisation from an outside town making gains from Castlemaine,” she said.The mayor said she was happy with the way Enough Pokies in Castlemaine had conducted its campaign.“I have been impressed by the way the community had gone about the campaigning, which has been incredibly rational and well mannered,” she said.The Commission has received 574 objections to the proposed venue, and will make a decision in the new year.

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