A group of construction unions are set to announce a green ban as part of efforts to protect the historic John Curtin Hotel in Melbourne from redevelopment.
The 150-year-old venue, named after wartime Labor prime minister, John Curtin, was recently bought by an overseas-based investor and developer.
Opposite Victoria’s Trades Hall in Carlton, the Curtin has long been a popular meeting place for labour movement members and union figures, including former prime minister Bob Hawke.
Following Hawke’s death in 2019, the hotel hosted an unofficial wake that was attended by hundreds, including then-opposition leader Bill Shorten, the state’s premier, Daniel Andrews, and former premier Steve Bracks.
More recently, it has cemented its legacy as one of Melbourne’s best live music venues, acting as an important stepping-stone for emerging local and international talent.
Prior to its sale, the City of Melbourne granted the Curtin interim “significant” heritage listing, meaning the heritage value of the hotel be considered in any proposed redevelopment of the site.
A seperate application for permanent protection, jointly made by Victoria’s National Trust and Trades Hall in March, is being assessed by Heritage Victoria.
The Building Industry Group of unions, which represents electricians, plumbers, construction and metalworkers, is also stepping up to protect the Curtin, and will announce a green ban to prevent its demolition.
The term was coined in the early 1970s by Jack Mundey of the Builders Labourers Federation, which fought successful campaigns to protect parkland, low-income housing and buildings with historical significance in Melbourne and Sydney.
The chief executive of the state branch of the National Trust, Simon Ambrose, credits green bans with saving Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market, Regent Theatre and Flinders Street Station from development.
“The National Trust is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the union movement to protect the Curtin, another beloved cultural institution,” he said.
“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.”
Victorian Trades Hall secretary, Luke Hilakari, said the union movement has a “long and proud history of protecting important cultural sites and buildings in Melbourne”.
“This is about saving an important gathering place for the future, but it’s also about preserving our city’s heritage,” he said.
He said the union wanted to avoid a repeat of the illegal demolition of Carlton’s Corkman Hotel in 2016, which resulted in its developers being fined nearly $1m and jailed after failing to turn the site into a public park.
“This green ban sends a clear message from Victorian workers: we will not stand by and let our precious, historic building be destroyed.”
City of Melbourne deputy lord mayor, Nicholas Reece, said heritage pubs had irreplaceable social and cultural value.
“The City of Melbourne has endorsed interim ‘significant’ heritage protection for The Curtin Hotel, to help ensure it receives the strongest possible level of protection in any redevelopment application,” he said.
“Any redevelopment proposal will be considered extremely carefully by councillors.”
