By Cameron Houston
MELBOURNE actor and activist Rachel Griffiths will launch an 11th-hour campaign today to raise funds for the restoration of the historic Palais Theatre, in a bid to reduce the scale of the $300 million development of St Kilda's triangle site.
Under the proposal by the community group unChain St Kilda, the $20 million cost of refurbishing the 80-year-old building would be met by a community appeal along with state and federal government funding. Several prominent theatre operators, including Paul Dainty and David Marriner, will also be asked to invest, in return for management rights.
Griffiths said independent funding of the Palais Theatre restoration would alleviate the need for 180 shops and a swag of pubs and nightclubs, which have been proposed by Sydney developer, Citta Group.
"One major reason the development plan is inappropriate is that the council has forced the developer to cover the entire cost of fixing up the Palais," Griffiths said. "If this was taken out of the equation, there wouldn't be the need for all this commercial space that will ruin the feel of St Kilda.
"We are not anti-development, we just want appropriate development, and we think a third of the existing plan is about right."
She also urged the State Government to make a significant financial contribution.
"I know schools and hospitals all need funding, but this site is worthy of state investment. Federation Square is a great example of where government funds have created a public space that is loved and used by the people of Melbourne," Griffiths said.
Recently nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in US television series Brothers and Sisters, and now based in Los Angeles, Griffiths has spent much of her life in Melbourne's bayside suburbs.
She attended two Catholic schools in Gardenvale, St James Primary and Star of the Sea, lived in several St Kilda share houses, and now owns a property in Elwood. Her love affair with theatre began after seeing an Australian Ballet performance at the Palais.
In 2002, Griffiths and her husband, Andrew Taylor, celebrated their wedding reception in the historic building.
"I don't want to seem like someone who's blown in from LA and is telling people what to do," she said. "But my history is really deep here, and I feel my family's future is here, and I want my children to be safe as 14 and 15-year-olds.
"St Kilda is a place for all Melburnians to relax, wander along the beach and spend time with family."
Renowned for her breast-baring protest at Crown Casino's opening 10 years ago, Griffiths said she would not be disrobing at today's launch.
"After two kids, I'm really not brave enough to go that extra step," she said. "I'd probably drive people away in droves."
Her mother, UnChain St Kilda spokeswoman Anna Griffiths, said Port Phillip Council and Citta Group director Stephen McMillan were "receptive" to the alternative funding model.
The council recently deferred a decision on the development until January 24 after receiving more than 5000 objections.
Mayor Janet Cribbes announced the council would commission an independent economic assessment of the site's proposed retail mix, and yesterday met opponents unChain St Kilda and the Esplanade Alliance.
Anna Griffiths said the State Government needed to recognise the importance of the Palais and the adjoining triangle site.
"There is no good reason for the State Government to continue its opposition to public funding of the Palais Theatre refurbishment, especially when it continues to underwrite the Grand Prix to the tune of $75 million," she said.
"If the financial responsibility for restoration was shifted off Citta Group, they would have the freedom to deliver a more modest retail component, with substantially increased cultural activity."
She said the community was disgusted with the lack of leadership from Albert Park MP Martin Foley.