NEWS DESK
VCAT approves pokies Council pushed at VCAT for the children’s play area to be roofed and weatherproofed within two years, Beretta’s wanted four years to complete the $700,000 worth of works and the VCAT panel settled on a deadline of three years to enclose the play area. Frankston Council said it selected its legal representation at VCAT based on its “case on the strong planning position expressed in council’s planning permit refusal decision and on the lack of any satisfactory evidence on social impact supplied by the proponent”. “The compromise of a three-year deadline for the hotel upgrades is a very small concession to council’s concerns, however the VCAT decision overall is disappointing,” Council CEO Dennis Hovenden said. “We are concerned about the message this sends to local families and the long-lasting impact that gaming has on one of the most vulnerable communities in Victoria.” Beretta’s and the VCGLR have previously refused to respond to all media questions about the Langwarrin Hotel pokies application. Labor Gaming and Liquor Regulation Minister Jane Garrett, now a backbench MP, merely said in May that “this was a decision made by the independent regulator” and any questions to the state government were referred to the government-appointed VCGLR who refuse to comment. Current Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz has been contacted for comment.
Continued from Page 1 Annual expenditure at the Langwarrin Hotel is predicted to rise by $465,879 annually after the 10 pokies machines are in place, according to figures provided to the VCGLR when Beretta’s made its application bring in 10 more machines. Pokies players lost nearly $7.7 million playing the 52 machines at the Langwarrin Hotel in the 2015-16 financial year. VCAT panel members cited a previous ruling on pokies at the Royal Benalla Hotel where it was determined “problem gambling is a phenomenon that cannot be accurately measured and, even if it could, its consequences are impalpable and difficult to subject to a purely economic analysis”. The VCAT panel acknowledged Beretta’s will donate $10,000 annually to the Theodora House charity that provides food parcels and help to Langwarrin people in need when the extra pokies machines are installed “in addition to the $80,000 annual donation which the operator is already making under the existing approval regime for the existing 52 EGMs.” VCAT cited Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas figures classing Langwarrin as “in the 25 per cent least disadvantaged postcode areas in Victoria” as a factor in setting aside Frankston Council’s rejection of the planning permit. The panel also noted three full-time jobs at the pub will be created when the pokies are in place. Beretta’s is currently seeking applicants for a Gaming Graveyard Supervisor job at the Langwarrin Hotel.
Guess who: Frankston Library information librarian Amanda Wittmer with the Three Well Known Australians artwork that tours around Australia. Picture: Gary Sissons
Will you crack the code? A PAINTING that has intrigued thousands of people across the nation for more than 30 years is coming to Frankston. The timeless artwork, Three Well Known Australians, by artist Martin Shaw, has been keeping the public guessing since its journey started in 1983. So far it has been exhibited at 186 venues, and Mr Shaw said there are plans to keep the tour going for many years to come. Part of the mystique surrounding the painting is the mystery of just who the subjects are, but while the clues are in the painting Mr Shaw is giving nothing away. Exhibition-goers are asked to write their guesses in a
yearbook, which organisers say forms a type of “social commentary” of Australia and reveals the trends and values of the communities it visits. The abstract painting previously toured Melbourne in 1986, 1996 and 2006, and won’t be back until 2026. There are 100 letters on display with the exhibition containing opinions on the identity of the “three Australians” from other well-known Australians such as former prime minister Tony Abbott. Reading the guesses is both entertaining and revealing. The painting will be on display at Frankston Library from until 28 September.
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Frankston Times 19 September 2016
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