NEWS DESK Pokies loophole could cause more ‘trauma’
FIREFIGHTERS put out a fire in Aspendale. Picture: Supplied
Aspendale units go up in flames Brodie Cowburn brodie@baysidenews.com.au A FIRE at a block of units in Aspendale caused major damage and sent a person to hospital on Monday, 4 June. Emergency services were called out to the blaze on the corner of Ross Street and Sixth Avenue at around 11.30am. An under construction block of two storey units had caught fire, and one person was stuck inside. Edithvale CFA attended and helped
evacuate the man inside the building. He was taken to hospital after suffering the effects of smoke inhalation. The fire soon engulfed the roof and spread to a neighbouring apartment. Fire crews had to attack the fire from above using the ladder platform to put it out. The fire was eventually brought under control after around two hours. Two apartments ended up extensively damaged, but the other two apartments on the block were not. A statement on the Edithvale CFA Facebook page read that the fire
started as a result of work on the building, and was not suspicious. The Edithvale CFA were helped by crew members from Patterson River, Springvale, Dandenong, Mentone, Bayswater, and Keysborough. Around 50 firefighters ended up on the scene. Ambulance Victoria, Victoria Police, Worksafe, and Kingston Council also attended. A smoke warning was issued for Aspendale, Aspendale Gardens, Bangholme, Braeside, Chelsea, Chelsea Heights, Edithvale, Waterways, Bonbeach, and Mordialloc.
A LEGAL loophole allowing supermarkets to be built next to gaming venues could cause damage to the community, Kingston Council says. Council has called for the law to be amended to prevent supermarkets from being built near venues with pokies. Kingston mayor Steve Staikos said “it’s nonsensical that you can’t build a gaming venue next to a supermarket, but you can build a supermarket next to an existing gaming venue.” “This gap in logic leaves our communities open to the very real trauma of gambling harm,” he said. VCAT recently approved the construction of a Woolworths on a site roughly 675 metres from the Chelsea Heights Hotel, prompting council to call for action. In the 2020/2021 financial year gamblers in the Kingston area lost upwards of $44 million playing electronic gaming machines. That astronomical figure was recorded in a year where venues were closed for five months because of the pandemic. Between July 2021 and May 2022 gamblers lost more than $55.5 million on EGMs in the Kingston area. Kingston gamblers routinely rank among the biggest losers in comparison with other local government areas (“Punters pour money into pokies” The News 7/8/19). Kingston Council put forward a motion at a recent Municipal Association of Victoria meeting calling for the law to be changed. “Kingston City Council is concerned about the harm caused by electronic gaming machines in Kingston. Of great concern is a current loophole in the Victorian Planning Provisions that allow supermarkets to
be built in close proximity to gaming venues,” the motion read. “It is widely acknowledged that convenient access to gaming venues creates an increased risk of gambling harm. This concept was the foundation for the introduction of clause 52.28 into Victorian planning schemes which prohibits installation of gaming machines in nominated shopping complexes or shopping strips. The Victorian Planning Provisions must be amended to protect our community from further gambling harm especially those who are most vulnerable including people facing social isolation, people experiencing disadvantage and people from non-English speaking backgrounds.”
Kilkenny a minister CARRUM MP Sonya Kilkenny has been promoted into the state government’s ministry. Kilkenny picked up four portfolios after a recent reshuffle. She is now the minister for corrections, youth justice, victim support, and fishing and boating. The new appointments to the ministry were made after the resignations of five senior MPs - James Merlino, Martin Foley, Lisa Neville, Martin Pakula, and Richard Wynne. Premier Daniel Andrews said that the changes would increase the representation of women in the state government. “These appointments bring the number of women in the Victorian cabinet to 14, more than any other Australian jurisdiction, with three of the four parliamentary leadership positions also filled by women,” he said. Mordialloc MP Tim Richardson was made parliamentary secretary for mental health and social inclusion.
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Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News
6 July 2022
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