BendigoWeekly www.bendigoweekly.com.au
ISSUE 1070 FRIDAY, MAY 18, 2018
TIME OUT All Seasons’ bid rejected
By SHARON KEMP
GAMBLING opportunities in Bendigo are set to shrink and attention is being focused on the long hours of access gamblers already have to poker machines in the city. Asked to extend liquor licence trading hours at the All Seasons Hotel, the City of Greater Bendigo this week said no because it did not want gamblers to have more time at machines, or more access to drinking. Councillors were also concerned that the All Seasons, Bendigo’s largest pokies venue with more than $5.5 million going into machines in the six months to December 31, operates outside the city’s entertainment area and adjacent to housing. But drawing attention to the generosity shown to operators in the past, councillor Andrea Metcalf said her research showed the Bendigo District RSL Club was effectively able to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. “The liquor licence for the RSL was granted by the Victorian Commision of Gaming and Liquor Regulation in 1987 (and) this licence essentially gave the business 24 hour service rights except for a period between 1am and 10am on Sunday mornings,” Cr Metcalf said. “The city agreed to a variation in 2014 to allow the serving of alcohol on Sundays.” The RSL is located in North Bendigo, also outside the entertainment district, and it closes at 4am Thurs-
JUMP IN: Strath Storm’s Angela Gamble and Kangaroo Flat’s Tia Needs. Photo: ANDREW PERRYMAN
Footy first backs a worthy cause FEMALE football will be celebrated on Saturday night as Strathfieldsaye and Kangaroo Flat’s women’s teams combine for a good cause. The two clubs are fielding their first senior women’s sides this year, providing the inspiration for a Pink Sports Gala Night featuring three junior games and a
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senior match under lights. Along with the footy there will be collection tins, a bake sale, raffle tickets and barbecue, raising funds for Breast Cancer Network Australia. The junior matches start at 5.30pm, with the senior women and under-18s taking to the field at 7pm.
28-page Education Week Feature
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day to Saturday and at 2am Sunday to Wednesday, an hour later each day than the All Seasons. The owners of the All Seasons want to extend its hours to 4am Thursday to Saturday and 3am on other days. “I was interested to read in the documentation submitted by the applicant that the reason behind the increased hours was to remain competitive as a business as the RSL already had approval for similar hours,” Cr Metcalf said. She voted to refuse the All Seasons’ application, arguing that the RSL licence predates the current policy of the council that sought to discourage convenience to gambling.
The city agreed to... allow the serving of alcohol (in 2014) Councillors elected in this term have taken a vocal stance against gambling, throwing their weight against a bid by Bendigo Stadium Limited to put 44 pokies into the Wellington at Botanic Gardens Hotel and by the Bendigo Club to add 16 machines.
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