By Allon Lee
WESTVALE Community Centre has called for public donations to a legal fund after Brimbank City Council has decided to take matters to the Supreme Court.
The council is pursuing Supreme Court action to overturn a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision that the dispute between the two parties should go to trial.
The council has been attempting to evict Westvale’s committee of management since May.
The council intends to argue that VCAT has no jurisdiction to hear the dispute.
In a prepared statement, Brimbank deputy mayor Ian Douglas said: “We are appealing the VCAT decision because we do not believe that council’s lease is a retail lease under the Retail Leases Act.
“The Westvale Community Centre is leased for a peppercorn rent as community facility and it should be just that – a centre which is used for community welfare purposes.”
In a VCAT hearing in August, the council’s barrister, Robert Burns, said the centre’s lease could not be deemed a valid retail premises lease because Westvale is not a business.
But the committee’s barrister, Stephen Wartski, disputed this, noting that the Act did not mention the word “business” anywhere.
Mr Wartski told the hearing that even though the activities of the centre were subsidised, patrons of the centre paid service fees and therefore the centre’s activities did constitute a business.
He compared it to medicines subsidised by the Federal Government that are sold in pharmacies as retail goods.
He also said the committee has tenancy rights over the centre because its lease agreement with the council expires in 2008.
VCAT deputy president Michael Macnamara accepted that the centre was a business but did so with “some hesitation” because of the consequences it could have for other council leases.
Westvale chairman Robert Mammarella told Star the committee would meet the council’s legal challenge but needs public help.
“This is going to cost a lot of money to fight, but we will do it for the sake of the community,” Mr Mammarella said.
Mr Mammarella estimated the Supreme Court legal action will cost the council at least $150,000.
“We call on all decent citizens and businesses in Brimbank to help us fight this gross injustice and an attack on the disadvantaged members of our community.
“This is the stuff of schoolyard bullies, and no one like bullies,” he said.
Slamming the council’s Supreme Court action as a waste of ratepayers’ money, he described council’s tactics as a “flexing of financial muscle to win at any cost”.
“This is an outrageous abuse of power and misuse of public office against volunteers who freely give up their time for the social development of a historically disadvantaged community,” he said.
“The council has shown it will spend ratepayers’ money against other ratepayers in the same community.”
Mr Mammarella claimed the council wants to sell the centre building, an adjacent vegetable garden and Cyril Clements Reserve and build lowrise, highdensity apartments.
Cr Douglas denied Mr Mammeralla’s allegation, promising the reserve would remain open space. “We are currently in the process of developing a master plan for Cyril Clements Reserve to enhance this open space for future community use,” Cr Douglas said.
Mr Mammarella dismissed Cr Douglas’ assurance.
“The whole issue with the development of Cyril Clements Reserve is council can’t be trusted.
“It is interesting they have a master plan.
“That is what they said about the Kororoit Creek site (in Ballarat Rd) which they quickly sold off,” Mr Mammarella said.
The council declined to reveal how much money it has spent so far on legal costs or how much it is willing to spend to win the case.
For information on donations, phone 9367 6647.
