Summary Statement of Proposal - Proposed Class 4 Gambling and TAB Venue Policies 2010

Council is currently reviewing its Class 4 Gambling and TAB Venue policies in line with the requirements of the Gambling Act 2003.

The proposed Class 4 Gambling Venue policy adopts a ‘sinking lid’ approach under which the Council will not:

• grant consent to operate gaming machines at any venue not already operating machines;
• increase the number of gaming machines operating at any existing Class 4 Venue;
• Re-establish a Class 4 venue with gaming machines once a license is no longer held for that venue.

The merger or relocation of clubs is allowed for in the policy provided that the total number of gaming machines in the District is not increased as a result. The status quo is proposed for the TAB Venue policy.

Assessment of Options

The proposed amendments serve to remove clauses no longer required, provide clarity and reflect changes needed under the proposed ‘sinking lid’ approach. The following options have been identified for consideration;

Option One: The policies be approved unchanged and the status quo of 5.1 gaming machines per 1000 resident population applies. This means that gaming machines in the Hastings District will continue to increase at a ratio of 5.1 machines per 1,000 residents and new venue licences will be granted.

Option Two: The policies are approved as proposed, and amended to reflect any changes considered necessary as a result of issues arising from submission received during the Special Consultative Procedure. This means that a ‘sinking lid’ will be implemented and no new machines or venues will be permitted in the Hastings District.

Consultation

As part of the special consultative procedure required by the Local Government Act 2002, Council called for submissions in June/July 2010. The submissions received are below, along with the related background information.

• Submissions 1 - 15 (PDF 2.64MB)
• Submissions 16 - 25 (PDF 3.46MB)
• Summary of statement of proposal (PDF 52kB)
• Statement of proposal (PDF 89kB)
• Proposed Class 4 Gambling Venue Policy (PDF 70kB)
• Proposed TAB Venue Policy (PDF 59kB)

Further information

For further information contact Amanda Vallis on phone 06 871 5000, fax 06 871 5115 or email amandav@hdc.govt.nz