We’re still bloody fuming about the illegal demolition of the The Corkman Irish Pub. It wasn’t just a favourite watering hole for Melbourne Law School students, it was also a beautiful 159-year-old heritage building.
The site was levelled down without a demolition or planning permit, and is also (kinda suspiciously) the site of an arson investigation after a fire broke out a week ago.
Unfortunately, the penalties for these sorts of things are actually not that steep, a $380,000 fine might mean a lot to me and you, but if you’re a wealthy developer it’s just one extra line item on your list of expenses for the giant condos or whatever it is you’re planning on destroying the neighbourhood with.
Fortunately, the unions are doing their part to stop these assholes from doing whatever they want, issuing a blanket ban on construction on the site so that the bastards can’t just go on with their shitty plans.
Both the CFMEU and the Victorian Trades Hall Council have told their members to stay off the site, believed to be the first ban of its type in about a decade.
Secretary Luke Hilakari from the Trades Hall says that taking the land back off them is the only real punishment:
“The only way to permanently protect our heritage is for illegal demolition to amount to surrender of the site itself.”
Rightfully, people have been very upset with the destruction of the Corkman, with nearly 14,000 people already having signed a petition to have it rebuilt.
Photo: Jenny Zhou.
Source: The Age.
