Rogue developers who demolished Corkman Pub have fine slashed on appeal
The two rogue developers who illegally demolished Carlton’s historic Corkman Pub have had their $2 million fine set aside after it was deemed “excessive”. But they’ll still have to fork out a whopping sum after new fines and costs were imposed.
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The rogue developers who illegally demolished Carlton’s landmark Corkman Pub have had their fines slashed on appeal.
Raman Shaqiri and Stefce Kutlesovski were fined almost $2 million in fines for knocking down the 159-year-old pub.
But those fines were today set aside and new fines and costs imposed totalling $1.1 million.
County Court judge Trevor Wraight today ruled the fines, imposed by two magistrates, were excessive and ignored important sentencing factors.
He said the fines also came close to the maximum possible sentence which he found inappropriate for what he described as “mid-range” offending.
“It may be that the community — and possibly the sentencing magistrates in this instance — regard the available maximum penalties in relation to this conduct as inadequate,” Judge Wraight said.
“However, unless and until parliament increases the penalties available, courts are bound by the proscribed penalty and must sentence in accordance with proper sentencing principle.”
Shaqiri and Kutlesovski, were originally 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.
Judge Wraight today reduced the overall fines to $880,000 and ordered they pay $176,000 in costs.
He found the men were motivated by large profits, with a commercial decision made that any potential penalty would be dwarfed by their potential profits.
“It is self-evident that both Mr Shaqiri and Mr Kutlesovski were well aware of their responsibilities and the laws that would need to be complied with, before any building or demolition could take place on such a significant historical property on a prominent inner city corner,” he said.
“Therefore, the only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn from their decision, is that they made a commercial calculation.
“That is, they weighed up the potential penalties that they would face as result of the deliberate breach of the law, with the potential profit that would result from development of the site, before going ahead. Indeed, despite the litigation, delay, and any loss of reputation, ultimately, the development will go ahead.”
Judge Wraight said the men had displayed “little, if any, genuine remorse”.
Shadow planning minister Tim Smith slammed the decision.
“These cowboy developers are getting away with the heist of the century,” he said.
“The Andrews government must appeal this decision which sends entirely the wrong message to the industry.”
“Richard Wynne must reconsider my proposal, as well as Dr Kate Shaw’s, for the compulsory acquisition of the Corkman site, so these cowboys do not profit from their unlawful behaviour.”
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“The Andrews Labor Government must also answer how is it that these two rogues can practice in the construction industry in Victoria today after what they have done?”
Sustainable Australia MP Clifford Hayes also weighed in on the topic, saying the government had lost control.
“The integrity of the state government and the planning minister has been reduced to rubble, much like the Corkman Pub,” he said.
“The planning minister came out with a bold and impressive pre-election declaration that the Corkman Pub would be rebuilt brick by brick; Since then, his tail has receded between his legs.
“These cowboys have run rings around the government and the planning minister.
“Any government that allows rogue developers to illegally demolish a heritage building to gain a windfall profit has lost complete control of the planning system.”
Planning Minister Richard Wynne said the government was reviewing the court’s decision and would consider strengthening the laws again if required.
“Let’s make no mistake here, what these cowboy developers did is unforgivable and the community has a right to be outraged by it,’’ he said.
“We’ll be reviewing the court decision and looking (at) what options are available to government.
“If the current legislation does not meet community expectations we will strengthen it.’’
The government toughened up the laws in 2017 in the wake of the Corkman demolition to bring in tougher penalties and heavier fines for those who tore down heritage buildings. But because the laws were not retrospective, they could not be applied directly to the Corkman developers.
A review of the Building Act is currently under way, with the government looking at how best to crack down on dodgy builders.
Mr Wynne again rejected the call by Tim Smith to compulsorily acquire the Corkman site.
“Compulsory acquisition would mean using taxpayers’ money to pay top dollar directly to the developers, which is hardly a just outcome,’’ he said.