[Greens-Media] Labor's half-hearted pledge short changes the Palais Theatre yet again - Pennicuik

[Amanda.Sharp at parliament.vic.gov.au]

Labor's half-hearted pledge short changes the Palais Theatre yet again

Yesterday's announcement by the ALP that it will invest only up to $13.4 
million to upgrade the Palais Theatre, falls well short of the estimated 
$40 million that is needed to restore it.

"This pledge by the ALP just continues the total lack of commitment that 
Labor has shown for the Palais Theatre for more than a decade," Greens MP 
for the Southern Metropolitan Region and long term advocate* for the 
Palais said today.

In August this year, the City of Port Phillip identified urgent emergency 
work estimated at $15 million to keep the Palais open in the short term 
and another $25 million in the medium term to bring the Palais up to 
compliance with current building standards.

"That same week, I called on the government in state parliament to 
urgently work with the Council to not only carry out the urgent repairs, 
but also to refurbish the Palais," Ms Pennicuik said. 

"That fell on deaf ears as far as the government was concerned, with 
Minister Smith putting the onus back on the tenant to maintain the 
building!"

"Now Labor have come out with a half-hearted commitment that relies on the 
local council, the operator and philanthropists to make up the rest. It's 
not good enough," Ms Pennicuik said.

"It's a mystery to me why both Labor and the Coalition are so reluctant to 
come out and commit to fully funding the repairs and restoration of the 
Palais," Ms Pennicuik said. "Both have neglected it for years and only 
applied drip feed funding when an emergency required it.

"I am also perplexed as to how Labor can be naming and committing an 
operator to future funding works, while there is a process in train for 
expressions of interest for the lease. 

"The previous Labor government showed no interest in the Palais and, led 
by former Minister for Planning, Justin Madden, made the mistake of tying 
its refurbishment to whatever was done at the adjoining St Kilda Triangle 
site. This was a very unwise decision which rightly caused huge community 
opposition and resulted in neither happening. These two issues should be 
separated and I remain wary of what Labor may have in mind if it is not 
prepared to commit now to fully funding restoration of the Palais," Ms 
Pennicuik said.

The Palais Theatre belongs to the people of Victoria, is heritage listed 
and is a significant state asset. It is the clearly responsibility of the 
state government to restore and maintain it.

"The urgent repairs and full restoration that are much needed now are a 
once in a generation commitment to the longevity of the Palais on behalf 
of all Victorians and everyone around the world who loves and appreciates 
it.
 
"Labor boasts that it funded works on the roof of the Palais Theatre in 
2010. This was due to the need for urgent repairs and nothing was done in 
relation to other works that were clearly needed four years ago. 

"Martin Foley isn't the best friend the Palais could ever hope for in 
Parliament. He has only mentioned it once, in regard to a concert for the 
Sacred Heart Mission in 2011, which it is not clear that he even 
attended," Ms Pennicuik said.

For further comment: Sue Pennicuik 0409 055 875 

* http://tinyurl.com/n3vctow


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