2018-07-10 Planning & Environment Committee Agenda

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA   10 JULY 2018




                                                  Page 28 of 86

PLANNING & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                     10 JULY 2018

                                                                                         ATTACHMENT 1
           Applicant’s letter of support
               The Club was established in 1920 on one land lot at the current site. During the following
               90+ years the Club has undergone a number of alterations to increase its footprint which has
               involved some important land acquisitions. In this time there were ongoing refurbishments
               to ensure the facility offering remained viable and relevant. Today the Club now occupies
               eight land lots at the corner of Memorial Avenue, Doonella Street and Pelican Street and is a
               significant community facility.
               The TNRSL has a current membership that exceeds 11,000 with 400+ of these being
               returned service personnel. The Club employs 95+ staff and predominantly sources good
               and services from within the local community which has a very positive impact on the local
               economy.
               The Club provides support to its returned services personnel in the form of Welfare Officers,
               and financial assistance to the Sub Branch across a broad range of its activities. These
               services would be unduly impacted upon if the revenue stream of the Club was negatively
               affected.

               The Club provides numerous facilities and services for members, guests and visitors
               including, but not limited to, a 270 seat dining area, 80 seat Café, Lounge area, Function
               area/s, Gaming room, Children’s room, entertainment, multiple bar areas and bottle shop.
               These facilities are also utilised by many community groups as an ‘in-kind’ donation from the
               Club to the community, to allow them to promote and fundraise for their causes.
               During the last five years the Club has donated over $1.9million in Cash and ‘In-kind’ to the
               community, an average of $386k per year. Last financial year the donation was $441k and
               based on the current spend this will see the Club again exceed the 400k for this financial
               year.
               In recent times, primarily the last 20+ years, the Club has refocused its operations to
               guarantee that it provides meaningful community benefit as part of its Charter. As part of
               this process the Club has increased the number of EGMs from its original nine to the current
                195.

               It is readily acknowledged within the industry that the primary source of revenue that
               enables licensees to contribute to community benefit is obtained from gaming. This is not
               unique to our Club but relates to all venues which hold a Community Club Liquor Licence and
               Gaming Machine Licence.
               The TNRSL has developed a major business plan which has been in place for a number of
               years to ensure that it remains a viable financial entity in the Tewantin Noosa area and can
               continue to contribute ‘Community Benefits’.

                                                                                                    Page 28 of 86