Hotel, pub owners cautiously welcome government backdown on pokies reform

Pub and hotel owners have welcomed Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s watered-down pokies plan, saying it brings certainty to an issue that has been debated for years. 

Hearing the news this weekend that Labor would no longer honour its promise to him to introduce pre-commitment at pokies venues, independent MP Andrew Wilkie has withdrawn his support for Labor, leaving the government with just a one-seat majority.

Gillard has instead proposed her own plan, saying Wilkie’s had little support. The government’s new strategy includes a trial of pre-commitment technology for poker machines, ahead of a proposed rollout in 2016.

Hotel broker Nick Tinning says the marketplace is cautious.

“Talking to my buyers, they’re saying it’s a good sign, but they don’t necessarily trust the government. There are still some reversed feelings,” he told SmartCompany this morning.

“I think things will stay that way until the government changes, or we go through another election and we have what people believe will be a secure platform.”

The issue has hung over a bleak property market, with buyers staying away since prices fell after the financial crisis.

And although a new report in the Australian Financial Review this morning suggests private equity-owned Independent Pub Group could go up for sale soon, with requests for expressions of interest being sent out this month, Tinning says the majority of the market is flat.

“The greatest problem we have is the lack of new entries. We typically sell hotels in the country to mum and dad investors who have sold out of a major city and decide they want to move to the country.

“The number of those enquiries has crashed, and the number of potential new hoteliers has dropped dramatically.”

Continued questions over pokies reform will undoubtedly play a part in that uncertainty, experts say. Many owners are still trying to understand the new package put forward by Gillard – the Australian Hotels Association told SmartCompany this morning it was still working through all the details.

The uncertainty is magnified by the fact Tony Abbott has already promised to scrap the proposed reform if he wins office in 2013.

Tinning says that pledge leaves questions on the minds of many potential buyers.

“Everyone is saying that it sounds good, it smells good, but from an industry point of view, it’s still the mum and dad investors who are a bit shy.”