Court date dodged for wedding

A rogue developer fighting his share of almost $2 million in fines after illegally demolishing the Corkman pub in Carlton missed court for a four-week Mediterranean getaway.

A rogue developer appealing hefty fines over the illegal demolition of an iconic Melbourne pub has skipped court so he can be married in Spain.

Raman Shaqiri was due at the County Court today for his appeal against his share of almost $2 million in fines for illegally knocking down the Corkman pub in Carlton.

But he was a no show with his lawyer, Nicholas Papas, QC, telling the court he was overseas planning for his Spanish wedding this month.

The four-week trip included parties in the lead-up to the big day including one this weekend on a Mediterranean island with guests expected to fly in from around the world.

Lawyers representing the Victorian Building Authority, Melbourne City Council and the Environment Protection Authority failed in a bid to have Mr Shaqiri’s appeal thrown out because of his no show.

Mr Papas said his client had attended an earlier hearing and was appearing through his counsel.

He said the appeal was simple arithmetic and centred around the question of the proper penalty that should have been imposed for the pub demolition.

The ruins of the Corkman. Picture: David Crosling

Mr Shaqiri, and co-offender Stefce Kutlesovski, were fined $220,000 and $255,000 respectively, and their company 160 Leicester fined a further $850,000, after pleading guilty to breaching building and planning laws.

That followed fines totalling over $600,000 after they pleaded guilty to charges of depositing industrial waste at an unlicensed site and failing to comply with a Minor Works Pollution Abatement Notice.

They were also ordered to donate to a community environmental project and pay court costs.

Mr Papas argued aggregate fines should have been imposed covering all of the offending.

The Corkman pub, then known as the Carlton Inn, in 1937.

The 159-year-old pub was torn down without approval in October 2016, an act that outraged the public and prompted legal action from several bodies.

After the pub was knocked down, demolition waste, including asbestos, was illegally dumped.

In sentencing the pair for the illegal dumping, magistrate Richard Pithouse said he would have jailed them if he could.

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“There needs to be a putative punishment for any developers who may wish to follow this path. It has to be discouraged, it has to be stopped,” he said.

“If jail was available I would be imprisoning the accused,” Magistrate Pithouse said.

The pub’s owners initially apologised and promised to rebuild the hotel in the weeks after the demolition. But they soon changed tack, challenging council orders to clean up the site.

The hearing continues.