Friday, July 23, 2010

Valentines back-down a credit to Hamilton community

The stupid decision by Valentines restaurant in Hamilton, and the Grassroots Pokie Trust, to try and place 9 pokie machines in the 'family' restaurant, has thankfully been taken off the agenda - for now.

After a public outcry, and a very good Waikato Times article, Valentines saw they were on a hiding to nothing and wisely pulled their head in.

They lamely claimed they had just discovered they didn't have room to fit the pokies in - Yeah, right! And they didn't check this sort of thing first? I don't think so!

The truth is that they wanted to get some extra income from the pokie 'site rentals' to bolster their sagging financial fortunes, and they were advised of a loophole that might allow the machines by their experienced hired gun lawyer Jarrod True, who fronts pokie applications and pokie rule liberalisation around the country.

And Hamilton City Council's planners didn't help things by stuffing up the public application/submission process - first advertising it under a completely incorrect section of the law, then getting the submisssion closing date wrong!

Thanks to Aaron Woolley (Like Minds, Like Mine) and the Problerm Gambling Foundation for the great work they did to alert the community.

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