By Shelby Brooks
A plan to install 40 poker machines at the Royal Hotel in Kooweerup has been denied by the Victorian Commission for Gaming and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR).
VCGLR made the decision to refuse the application after a hearing on 30 and 31 March.
Cardinia Shire representatives attended the hearing to oppose the plan.
Documents on the VCGLR website state that on 1 March Cardinia Shire provided the commission with a written submission dated 26 February opposing the application.
The VCGLR found that the proposed number of poker machines would have negative economic and social impacts.
“After considering the material before it, the commission was not satisfied that the social and economic impact of the application would not be detrimental to the wellbeing of the Shire of Cardinia community,” the decision states.
“Accordingly, the ’no net detriment’ test was not met and the application was refused.”
A ‘no net detriment’ test requires the Commission to be satisfied that there is no net detriment arising from the approval through positively and objectively establishing that the net economic and social impact will not be detrimental to the well-being of the community.
The pokies would have helped the hotel fund an upstairs refurbishment, Royal Hotel venue manager Francis Deegan told the Gazette last month.
“There is really a lot of work to do upstairs, it’s quite derelict up there so the question was how do we afford the upgrades and that’s when the gaming came into it,” he said.
