2019-10-08 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   8 OCTOBER 2019




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PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                         8 OCTOBER 2019

              As advised, if Council does not see fit to remove the constraining Condition limiting the
              number of EGMs completely, then this current process will have to be repeated (again).
              Having to navigate this process repeatedly has cost implications for the business and impacts
              on the fundamental goals of the Club and its ability to maximise its operations for the benefit
              of the Club members and the community.
              The issue of Gaming and access to same, (whether it be EGMs, TAB, or Online Betting) is at
              best an emotive subject. The negative moral issues associated with Gaming have to be
              responsibly measured against the benefits that are gained and provided to communities
              through people participating in this activity. They also have to be measured against the rights
              of individuals to be able to participate in this form of entertainment as they may wish.
              Gaming is anecdotally referred to and recognised as a form of entertainment which is
              expected to be available at licensed hospitality venues such as TNRSL and the offerings
              should be reflective of the Clubs overall operations to ensure it can successfully compete in a
              highly competitive marketplace that can be somewhat volatile, depending on weather,
              employment, global economic issues, etc.
              The jurisdictional issue relating to the control and access of Gaming is currently the
              responsibility of the Commissioner of Liquor and Gaming, via the OLGR. The process
              associated with obtaining a Gaming Licence and any subsequent variations to this licence is
              governed by an incredibly robust and thorough application and assessment process. The
              Regulatory Agency, OLGR, reviews and assesses all applications and applies extreme
              scrutiny and conducts in-depth investigations before any approvals are granted. These
              applications must assess demand and potential community impact across a very broad range
              of matters.
              The Commissioner also seeks comment from local government and Police in relation to these
              applications and these comments are given significant consideration during the assessment
              process and it is through this process that Council can certainly address its concerns.
              It could be said that any attempt by Council to limit the ability for a licensee to make a lawful
              application for variations to its Gaming Licence (by embedding limitations on these matters
              within DA approvals) could be considered by some to be outside their jurisdictional remit and
              perhaps place the Local Government agency in a position of conflict with the State agency
              We note in the correspondence from Ms Coyle dated 26 October, that she has referenced the
              following:
                     « ....lowever, you should be aware Council is currently seeking the State to amend the
                     planning legislation to allow local Governments and their communities greater
                     opportunities to influence and provide input into the location and extent of electronic
                     gaming machines at a local level. For this reason, Council is not supportive of
                     removal of the current limitation on gaming machine numbers in the Condition.”
              We believe that this application/s should be considered on its own merits at the current time.
              To reserve the decision addressing this matter on the basis that “something may happen in the
              future”, could be considered as not being in the interests of natural justice and fairness to the
              applicant.

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  Document Set ID: 20899157
  Version: 1, Version Date: 11/07/2019

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