By Charlene Macaulay
Wyndham council has approved a Tigers Clubhouse expansion that will add another 10 poker machines to the venue, one month after knocking back the same plans.
Four out of the six available councillors last week approved plans for a $1.69 million redevelopment of the Werribee Football Club-owned venue that includes 10 new poker machines, a new storage area and courtyard and extension of the liquor licence area.
The club received approval for the new machines from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Regulation in May, but also needed planning approval from the council.
Councillor Mia Shaw said while she did not support an increase in poker machines, councillors had a duty to assess applications on their planning merit in accordance with the Wyndham Planning Scheme, and this one had met all the relevant guidelines.
“We are assessing a planning application for the use of the building, not for whether there should be an increase in poker machines,” she said.
“If we were to use our power to vote against this application before us tonight, the applicant would take the matter to VCAT and ratepayers’ funds would be used to defend council’s position, which I feel is irresponsible.”
But fellow councillor Josh Gilligan said knocking back the planning application would send a powerful message that Wyndham did not need more poker machines.
The decision comes a month after councillors voted against a council officer recommendation to approve the planning permit application for the venue.
When Star Weekly asked Wyndham council how the motion could be voted on a second time, city operations director Stephen Thorpe insisted that a resolution was not made at the October meeting, despite an online recording of the meeting and the minutes of that meeting clearly showing that the motion to approve the planning permit recommendation was lost.
