Frasertown community wins fight to stop pokies moving to town

An application was made for 18 gaming machines to be moved to Frasertown Tavern.

Members of a small Hawke’s Bay township have won a fight to stop pokie machines being opened at the local tavern.

Wairoa District Council (WDC) decided on Thursday to decline an application to move 18 gaming machines from Wairoa’s Ferry Hotel to the Frasertown Tavern.

Frasertown is located about 10 minutes’ drive north of Wairoa and that community does not have any gaming machines.

Long-term Frasertown resident Maria Cairns started an online petition last Friday to keep it that way, which gathered over 1100 online signatures in a matter of days. The petition was handed to Wairoa’s deputy mayor this week.

“I’m just over the moon that they have come to the right decision. I just think for our community this is what we needed,” Cairns said.

“It means our future generations will not have easy access to pokie machines.

“They will still have access [in the likes of nearby Wairoa] but it will not be as easy as it would have been.”

She said she was a bit worried the decision may be appealed but she would continue to fight if that happened.

The Ferry Hotel and the Frasertown Tavern are operated by the same owners.

The Ferry was badly flooded during Cyclone Gabrielle. As such, a recent application was made for its gaming licence to be moved to the Frasertown Tavern.

Wairoa District Council acting community services and development group manager Lauren Jones said the application to relocate 18 gaming machines to Frasertown Tavern had been declined.

“The Ferry is still being operated for accommodation, and the alcohol and food licences remain active,” she said.

“Council is not of the view that circumstances are beyond the control of the operator, to continue from the existing Ferry Hotel site.”

A Frasertown Tavern owner has been contacted for comment.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.