GLEN EIRA: No help for Elsternwick
Caulfield MLA David Southwick (pictured) has told State Parliament about the financial woes of the Elstern-wick Club.
“It is the gaming machines amendments which will hit small businesses and small clubs the hardest, including two not-for-profit community clubs, the Caulfield RSL and the Elstern-wick Club, which is the Elsternwick Bowls Club, which dates back to 1899,” Mr Southwick said.
“This is one of the clubs in my area that had entitlements for pokie machines.
“The idea when they were first awarded these licences was that hopefully that was going to subsidise the club, the bowling greens and the open space and ensure that club continued to survive.
“Well, unfortunately, that was not the case. Unfortunately, this club fell into liquidation, despite trying to talk the Allan Labor Government into helping them out of the huge tax burden from these gaming machines.
“They wanted to hand them back. They just said, ‘Look, these
aren’t working for us. We can’t make a go of these pokie machines. Just take them back.’
“And the government said, ‘No, we’re not going to take them back. You’re stuck with them now.’
“Recently the City of Glen Eira had to bail them out and had to buy the Elsternwick Club.
“Now the club is set for some kind of redevelopment, desperately needed for the money. I even looked in today’s budget, thinking to myself, ‘Well, you know what, this is a club that was reliant on the pokie machines, couldn’t make a go of those and asked the government for a bailout. The government said no. “They went into liquidation, had to sell the club – big community open space.’ And I would have thought,
doing what matters most and focusing on what matters most, maybe the great people of Elsternwick
might be able to get that club saved with a bit more money to ensure that the open space is redeveloped
for some kind of community space.
“Well, no surprises there – not one brass razoo for the Elsternwick Club to maintain that rich history.
“The government would not bail them out before, when they would not take those pokie licences off them, and now they will not help them out in this current budget.
“Again, looking at this new tax grab in these premium payments, as is being proposed here in this gambling legislation bill, if it would have been bad for clubs like Elsternwick before, imagine what it is going to be now.
“It is always the smaller clubs that get hit the hardest. The smaller businesses get hit the hardest because Labor does not care about hard-working small businesses, families, people that put their livelihoods on
the line, that work hard to employ people to try and have a go,” Mr Southwick said.