I wrote about this decision at the time, but to recap briefly, this was a case of the community rising up to make their voice heard. Coordinating the town’s opposition to the proposed development was local Jeremy Ham, who created the Facebook group Don’t Poke Jan Juc. This group was instrumental in getting the people of Jan Juc organised against the proposal.
Tag: Jan Juc
jan juc – the fight continues
About a month ago, on 4th October, the VCGR handed down a landmark decision. After a lengthy application and assessment process, they rejected an application from Jan Juc’s Beach Hotel to install 30 poker machines. This was after Jan Juc’s council had already rejected a development proposal for the hotel, of which the poker machines were a key component.
no pokies for jan juc
The little town of Jan Juc on Victoria’s surf coast is a quiet place for much of the year. There aren’t many people, and there certainly aren’t any pokies. Neighbouring Torquay has always had more than enough to make up for that.
So when the local Beach Hotel lodged an application for 30 poker machines, it sparked a wave of community protest not seen since Romsey went to the Supreme Court to keep pokies out of their town. And today, the people of Jan Juc won their battle. The VCGR handed down their decision on the Beach Hotel’s application, and for the first time in 2010, they said no.
don’t poke jan juc
There’s been a bit of coverage in the press lately about a proposed development in the surf coast town of Jan Juc, which would include the addition of 30 poker machines to The Beach Hotel (see my In The News pages for links to some of these articles). There is a considerable local movement opposed to this proposal, and the dispute has been going on for months.
This is nothing new. Mansfield and Romsey are two examples of country towns that have been successful in blocking the introduction of pokies into their communities (although recent governmental changes will make that kind of resistance more difficult). Bendigo is another town currently fighting to block additions to the pokies it already has.
