Greens Want To Give Pokie Power to City Councils

The Green have focused their pokie reform efforts on Tasmania. This month, the political party has started a campaign urging local councils in the state to take over the responsibility of granting poker machine licenses.

Currently, the state government has the power to decide how many pokie machines are permitted in each city and where the games are located. The Greens want to shift the responsibility, giving this power to local city councils, as they have a better idea of how the location of pokies will affect the community.

“This would place both the location and numbers of pokies squarely back under local planning control,” says says Kim Booth, the gaming spokesperson for The Greens. “This would mean that not only the community, but the council itself would be able to make a decision”.

The transition will also give community members the ability to weigh in. Residents and business owners can provide their take on new poker machines and where they should be located. It would help to ensure that poker machines are located in appropriate areas, which would best benefit the community.

The Greens are seeking support for the measure. They hope that local residents will back the bill.