The price of business? Corkman ‘cowboys’ avoid rebuild order

The developers who illegally demolished the 160-year-old Corkman Irish pub in Carlton won’t have to rebuild it.

VCAT has ordered the men must turn the site into a park by December and pay fines of more than $1.3 million before submitting plans for an appropriate development by 2022.

I’d love to know if, by the end of the day, the developers turn a profit.
They might consider a $2 million fine a cost of business.
-Ross Stevenson isn’t convinced the developers have paid a reasonable price for wrongly knocking down a protected Melbourne icon without permission

Developers who unlawfully demolished the Corkman have struck a deal to clear the site and temporarily turn it into a park.

Ross: “Please tell me they don’t get to lift a finger until they write a cheque and pay the fine.” pic.twitter.com/IAcyCHYGfE

— 3AW Breakfast (@RossAndJohn) May 29, 2019

Planning Minister Richard Wynne says he has the final say on that project but can’t force them to restore the pub to its former glory.

He wanted to make the men rebuild, but was told that was impossible.

“On really expert legal advice that I do not have that capacity because it is not legally sounds or practical to have the pub reinstated,” he told 3AW Breakfast.

Ross and John were eager to hear Mr Wynne’s assurance that the men can’t start building anything until they pay the fines.

“I think that’s an entirely reasonable thing to occur,” he responded.

“Perhaps this is a timely lesson to the development community that this type of action doesn’t go unpunished.”

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