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A multimillion dollar Sydney ‘hospitality operator’ has today revealed his plans to vote Labor for the first time in his life, at the upcoming NSW State Election.
The owner of Sydney’s Fading Waratah Hotel in Randwick says he never thought he’d see the day.
As a ‘small-business owner’ who lives in fear of his staff unionising, most would assume local publican Miles Miwadi (69) is a card carrying Liberal Voter. And he is. Just not in this election.
This comes as Premier Dominic Perrottet vows to make every poker machine in NSW cashless within five years under a $350 million plan to free the state from the vice like grips of a cancerous pokie culture.
“I don’t think there’s a person in the state who doesn’t know someone who has been affected by problem gambling.” said Perrottet.
Less than two months out from the March 25 state election, the NSW Premier has vowed to stamp out not just problem gambling but criminal activity.
Under the plan, pubs and clubs will have five years to convert their machines. Small and medium-sized venues will be given interest-free loans to help with the transition.
“They’ve changed the goal posts on us” says Miles, a man who openly campaigned for the Sydney lock-out laws that drove young people away from live music venues and nightclubs, forcing them into sticky pokie venues like his at 11pm every night.
“People think it’s easy to run a pub. We get taxed out the arse and ya barely break even on the beer”
“Ya basically can’t turn a buck without pokies”
Miles’ comments are interesting, considering the last time he hosted live music in his pub was before Michael Hutchence was rooting Kylie.
With a pub bistro that hasn’t been renovated since the Olympics, and poker machines outnumbering his beer taps 10-1, it’s almost like Miles isn’t really running a pub at all – more a heavily airconditioned Glen20 and ciggie smoke infused video game arcade.
Except his video games ruin families at an accelerating rate,
“What are we supposed to do?” says the defeated publican, who hasn’t cleaned the beer lines in 18 months.
“Get rid of the free spring rolls and put on a Sunday roast?”
“Set up a PA system and invite promising rock n roll bands to play music all night in front of excited kids having the best time of their lives?”
“Give me a break”
