By Christine de Kock
THE majority of remaining boat owners at Footscray wharf are expected to stick to their guns and will not accept the $6000 in compensation offered by the Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) to leave the wharf.
Boat owner and wharf cooperative spokesman Grenville Silvester said that of the 28 boat owners left at the wharf, one or two might accept the offer.
“But the majority of us will stay, we have nowhere else to go,” Mr Silvester said.
Mr Silvester was invited to meet with the Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) on Monday August 15.
He was offered a letter, dated the same day, which outlined the compensation proposal.
Mr Silvester said he believed the same letter was later sent to each of the boat owners located at Footscray wharf and the offer extended to the seven boat owners who had left when first notified of the pending eviction in July.
Mr Silvester said the letter offered two options, the first included a “maximum subsidy of $6000” on condition that the boat owners accepted the offer within seven days of receiving the letter.
He added that the terms of the offer also demanded that they permanently relocate from the wharf within 14 days of receiving the letter and had to provide “verification of vessel size” before doing so.
“Option two was a threemonth licence to moor at the pontoons (further down from the wharf),” Mr Silvester said.
General terms of option two included a rentfree stay at the pontoon for three months. This offer also had to be accepted within seven days and the boat owners relocated within seven days of signing the licence.
“But none of our boats can fit on to the pontoon,” Mr Silvester said. “The pontoon does not fit 42foot boats.”
Mr Silvester called for the Premier Steve Bracks to step in and assist the boat owners in asking PoMC to be “transparent” and to release their wharf report.
Maribyrnong mayor Michelle MacDonald said the council would back the boat owners throughout their fight even if they were evicted by 29 August.
“(The letter) does not change our position,” she said. “Our position is that we want the boat owners to be there”.
“What we want is for us, Port of Melbourne and the boat owners to sit around a table and talk through the issues”. She said the council would continue to seek talks with PoMC.
PoMC head of corporate relations Peter Harry said the port had shown “goodwill in extending the relocation deadline”.
“The port will not be unreasonable and will continue discussion with boat owners, Parks Victoria and the council,” Mr Harry said.
“Safety remains our priority. We will work towards resolution of the issue.”
