Souths pokies dispute “political”

It began with an announcement in December 2007. With the Leagues Club closing its doors for a complete gut-out, South Sydney Rabbitohs co-owners, Peter Holmes à Court and Russell Crowe, seized upon the opportunity to put forward their vision of a new kind of “family friendly” venue. At the centre of this new model was the removal of the poker machines that account for 70 per cent of the Leagues Club’s profits.

When the high-profile partners managed to secure a razor-thin 4-3 victory from the Board of Directors, it seemed that this vision had taken its first steps towards being realised. According to Leagues Club Chairperson Bill Alexiou-Hucker, the media was operating on “a misconception about the relationship between the Leagues Club and the Football Club.”

“What we were agreeing to when the vote went 4-3 was not to have no poker machines,” says Mr Alexiou-Hucker. “It was simply to say that we wish to investigate this further ... it wasn’t the be-all-and-end-all.”

With over $1 million in revenue derived from the pokies, the Board of Directors were primarily concerned with formulating a viable business strategy that did not include poker machines. Central to this strategy was the suspension of a rule requiring that all patrons living within 5km of the Leagues Club be members or signed in as guests of members.

After a series of frustrating meetings with then Premier Morris Iemma it became clear that negotiations with the State Government were making little progress. Ultimately, the matter was put to a vote at the Leagues Club’s AGM on August 17, 2008. Over 140 members converged on Redfern to cast their vote, with only three members voting in favour of the ban. “We have 7,000 members,” says Mr Alexiou-Hucker. “Any decision we make has to be based on what is in the best interests of our members.”

While the debate surrounding poker machines continued nationally, the South Sydney Leagues Club directed its focus towards the redevelopment process, which would see not only a refurbished Leagues Club on the first floor, but also two upper floors of office space and an IGA Supermarket on the ground floor. It was the construction of this supermarket in close proximity to poker machines that raised significant criticism from the City of Sydney Councillors who must vote to approve or refuse DAs for the area.

Recalling his discussions with the Planning Department, Mr Alexiou-Hucker was confident that the Development Application (DA) would be approved by the Planning Committee. “We asked them – and we’re going pretty high up in the food chain here – ‘What are the chances of it being knocked back?’ And the comment that was made to us was that, the only reason it would be knocked back is if it’s political. Because there’s nothing else you can knock it back on.”

Despite this assurance, in September, a DA including reference to a new gaming room was refused on the basis that it was substantially different from what was originally approved and because it would impact negatively on local residents. Although the preliminary approval for a supermarket was affirmed last year, the issue of poker machines remained a pressing point of division for some councillors, an indication, argues Mr Alexiou-Hucker, that certain councillors didn’t do their homework. “We are talking about local councillors who are meant to know what’s going on in their local areas, and 14 months after the AGM were not aware that we were going to have poker machines.”

The sentiment is echoed within the Council itself. “Some members of the Council did not understand the Act that they were meant to be operating under,” says Labor Councillor Meredith Burgmann. “They believed they had the right to ban poker machines.”

Nonetheless, Greens Councillor Irene Doutney, who voted against the supermarket DA, believes that it is important for the City of Sydney to consider social issues that may not be within their purview under a strict reading of the Environmental Planning legislation.

“He is right that [poker machines] are a State Government issue,” says Cr Doutney. “But I believe that it is up to the Council to ensure that social justice over these sorts of issues is considered.”

In the wake of the latest disagreements with the Council, the South Sydney Leagues Club has agreed to continue to find a business model that can accommodate the loss of poker machines. But, as Mr Alexiou-Hucker is quick to point out, the Leagues Club has been trading at a loss since about 1994.

According to a report released in 2008, the City of Sydney boasts the highest number of poker machines in NSW, placing the South Sydney Leagues Club in good company as pokies providers. “I don’t think our members would expect us to allow the club to become some sort of beacon of morality on gaming only to see it go broke in two years time.”

Even those parties most estranged on the issue agree that in order to tackle the issue of gaming addiction, each level of Government must work in concert. “Mr Alexiou-Hucker has consistently said that all three levels of government should help clubs who want to try to do the right thing by the community and not have pokies, and I agree,” says Cr Doutney. “We should help venues that are trying to do the responsible thing.”

South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon echoes this sentiment. “The Federal Government clearly has the Constitutional powers to intervene on this. They could give a carrot-and-stick approach to states on pokies, to give financial incentives to those clubs that want to be pokies free and increase taxes for those that still choose to rely on pokies.”

Source: South Sydney Herald February 2010 www.southsydneyherald.com.au