Unions ban workers from Curtin Hotel redevelopment to save pub

Construction workers in Victoria will be banned from redeveloping the John Curtin Hotel as part of a union-led protection of the Carlton pub and its Labor Party history.

A rare “green ban” has been imposed by the building industry group of unions — the CFMEU,Electrical Trades Union,the Plumbing and Pipe Trades Employees Union,and the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union — meaning they will advise all members against working on the site following its sale to an overseas buyer.

Unionists and local residents gather at Carlton’s John Curtin Hotel to back the “green ban” on the redevelopment of the site.

Unionists and local residents gather at Carlton’s John Curtin Hotel to back the “green ban” on the redevelopment of the site.Darrian Traynor

Secretaries of the unions on Thursday unanimously agreed to the green ban,a practice popularised in the 1970s and credited with saving the City Baths,the Regent Theatre,Flinders Street Station and Queen Victoria Market from development.

“We’re going to protect this institution,” Victorian Trades Hall secretary Luke Hilakari toldThe Age. “We won’t let our heritage be trashed. This is not a building you should touch.”

Managers of the hotel – which is named after wartime Labor prime minister John Curtin –announced earlier this year the venue would close when its lease expires in November after the owners listed the building for sale with an asking price of $6 million.

The sale was finalised this month. Agent CBRE would not confirm details,but an industry source said thebuyer was an overseas-based developer.

The unions last imposed a green ban six years ago at thesite of the Corkman Irish Pub,which wasdemolished by its owners.

Hilakari said the ban would make it tough for anyone to develop the venue into apartments,and he urged the state government to step in to protect significant pubs and live music venues.

“If someone was trying to come in there with a bulldozer,it would be all of us and half of Melbourne standing in front of that bulldozer,” he said.

Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari outside the John Curtin Hotel on Friday,explaining why unions have called their “green ban” on any redevelopment of the venue.

Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari outside the John Curtin Hotel on Friday,explaining why unions have called their “green ban” on any redevelopment of the venue.Darrian Traynor

He said the unions could remove the ban if there was a proposal that retained the pub and was supported by other stakeholders,such as Melbourne City Council and the music community.

The Trades Hall and the National Trust jointly nominated The Curtin,as it is commonly known,to thestate Heritage Register for its deep Labor,union and music history dating back to the 1800s.

The Trades Hall opened in 1859,the same year a hotel was established on the site across from where The Curtin stands today. The pub,in those days called the Lygon Hotel,was redeveloped in 1915 before its name changed to the John Curtin Hotel around 1969,when Bob Hawke was elected president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

The heritage application said the venue had “highly significant” heritage links given its relationship with Hawke,Labor’s longest-serving prime minister. Hundreds of people attended his unofficial wake at the pub in 2019,including then opposition leader Bill Shorten,Premier Daniel Andrews and former premier Steve Bracks.

Former premier Steve Bracks,then-opposition leader Bill Shorten and Premier Daniel Andrews share a beer in memory of Bob Hawke at The Curtin in 2019,following the death of the former prime minister.

Former premier Steve Bracks,then-opposition leader Bill Shorten and Premier Daniel Andrews share a beer in memory of Bob Hawke at The Curtin in 2019,following the death of the former prime minister.Alex Ellinghausen

The application also said the site was significant for its ongoing role as a music venue and history hosting fortnightly Aboriginal band nights in the 1980s and 1990s.

Heritage Victoria – part of the Department of Environment,Land,Water and Planning – is reviewing the application and will make a recommendation to the Heritage Council,an independent body that would make the final decision.

The City of Melbourne has provided interim protection of the pub as “significant” local property,a lower level of recognition than the state register.

Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said venues like The Curtin had heritage value,not just as buildings,but for irreplaceable cultural and social value.

Simon Ambrose,Victorian chief executive of the National Trust,said green bans had saved some of Melbourne’s most treasured heritage properties.

“The Curtin has been a community meeting place for more than 160 years. Our goal is to ensure that it remains a pub and live music venue,and doesn’t become a facade with a block of apartments behind it,” Ambrose said.

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Rachel Eddie is a Victorian state political reporter for The Age. Previously,she was a city reporter and has covered breaking news.

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