A new policy aimed at preventing and reducing gambling harms in the City of Melton has been drafted and is open for public feedback from now until Thursday 12 September.
The Gambling Harm Prevention and Reduction Policy is a key commitment of the Council and Wellbeing Plan 2017-2021.
It sets out strategies and guidance for Council to assess future electronic gaming machine applications against.
City of Melton Mayor Cr Bob Turner said the policy would help protect public health and wellbeing by addressing gambling related harms.
“Council takes gambling harms and risks very seriously which is why we’ve made a commitment to help minimise the harms caused by pokie machines,” Cr Turner said.
“The focus of this draft policy is on reducing community harms through the location, design and availability of gambling products in the City of Melton.”
“We want to target the normalisation of electronic gaming machines for the benefit of all residents and this policy will help achieve that.”
The draft policy builds on Council’s previous Responsible Gambling Policy (2014) and the Electronic Gaming Machine Planning Policy Project Reference Document (2017).
The Local Planning Policy in Gaming, within the Melton Planning Scheme Amendment C182, helped inform the draft policy.
The policy is also underpinned by modern research into gambling harms funded by the Responsible Gambling Foundation in Victoria.
View the policy and have your say by Thursday 12 September at
