Union pursues casino smoking ban
The hospitality workers' union will meet the Victorian Government tomorrow to discuss smoking bans in gaming venues, including Crown casino. Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union state secretary Brian Daley said the union would ask Health Minister John Thwaites to ban smoking from July 1. Mr Daley said the union was optimistic after Premier Steve Bracks yesterday reiterated the government's commitment to widening the smoking ban - already in force in restaurants and shopping centres. "We said all along - once we had bedded down the reforms in the restaurant industry and shopping centres, and once that worked effectively and proved to work effectively, we'd move on to other smoking restrictions ... and we're doing just that," Mr Bracks said. He said talks with the gaming and hotel industries about extending the bans were continuing. He said smoking bans in bars and clubs were "open for negotiation and discussion...