Yackandandah Hotel publican Peter Cook has worked in hospitality for decades, but has never experienced such a difficult time for pubs as now.
The pub, in the Indigo Shire in the northeast of Victoria, has served its community for over 100 years. But in the last few months, Cook has had to drop five of his thirteen staff, including his son.
When he started the lease five years ago, the pub was able to survive on accommodation, food and beverage sales.
Now, he struggles to make ends meet.
One solution he was open to was installing poker machines. However, like eight other Victorian councils, Indigo Shire has banned them.
While Cook did not want the pub to become a venue for gaming, he does want his small country pub to have enough revenue to keep going.
“It’s [about] long-term viability. If you’re not earning enough income to pay for services, to pay for the fresh paint jobs, to replace equipment and machinery as it breaks down, then you’re actually going backwards, which is where I am today,” he told the ABC.
While Cook understood the policy prior to signing the lease, back in 2019 economic times were different.
He also points out that those in the shire who did play pokies simply travelled to do so.
Yet in July alone, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission reported a loss of $268 million by the public to gaming machines across Victoria.
Mayor of Indigo Shire, Sophie Price, said the council believed there was no interest from the community to change its position on poker machines.
The shire has been renowned for having no pokies for the last decade. It initially made the move to protect vulnerable communities and has not looked back.
Around the same time, research was undertaken by sociologist John McDonald for Charles Sturt University on the impact of poker machines on communities.
McDonald found that removing poker machines from local government areas was in the best interest of councils, as the machines were likely to be found in areas of socio-economic disadvantage.
McDonald pointed out that while the benefits of the machines flowed away from communities, the local councils and charities bore the economic and social costs of the negative impacts.
This places communities and local leadership in a difficult place to navigate.
As the challenges of running the Yackandandah Hotel continue to mount, Cook’s situation underscores the broader dilemma faced by many regional communities.
The balancing act between preserving local culture and maintaining economic viability is complex.
While Cook’s struggle illustrates the immediate financial pressures on small businesses, the overarching policy against poker machines in places like the Indigo Shire reflects a commitment to long-term community welfare.
As communities and policymakers grapple with these issues, finding sustainable solutions that support local pubs, which are often the heart of the community, while safeguarding residents from potential harms remains a pressing challenge.
