The illegal destruction of a historic Carlton pub can be traced back to a development company with tens of millions of dollars worth of projects under way across Melbourne.
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And one of the firm's companies, which appears to have knocked down the pub, had previously been sued by a property owner – because one of its sub-contractors demolished the wrong house.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne on Tuesday branded the company that wrecked the 159-year-old Leicester Street pub "cavalier cowboy developers" who had acted "reprehensibly".
And Robert Doyle said the razing of the historic pub on the weekend was "the most brazen and wanton act of destructive vandalism that I have seen in my time as lord mayor".
Stefce Kutlesovski and Raman Shaqiri own the site where, until Sunday, the Corkman Irish Pub, formerly known as the Carlton Inn, had stood since 1857.
The building was demolished without permission, despite it having a heritage overlay and no approved demolition or planning permits.
The pub was demolished by crews working with trucks and equipment labelled Shaq Demolition and Excavation, a company part-owned by Mr Shaqiri.
His company Shaq Industries Pty Ltd had previously been involved in a legal case in which the firm had been accused of partially demolishing the wrong house in Broadmeadows.
Title and company searches show Mr Kutlesovski and Mr Shaqiri are the owners of a company called Makshaq, which is building 8 Lygon, a nine-storey tower under construction at the corner of Brunswick Road and Lygon Street, East Brunswick.
Neither Mr Kutlesovski nor Mr Shaqiri could be contacted for comment on Tuesday about their projects or the demolition of the Corkman Irish Pub, despite attempts to reach them via their various companies, social media and their marketing agents Colliers International.
A fire that broke out at the Corkman Irish Pub a week before it was demolished is now being investigated by Victoria Police's arson squad. A police spokeswoman said the suspicious fire was under investigation by North Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives.
Both the planning minister and the lord mayor went to the Carlton site on Tuesday where the remains of the destroyed pub now sit, and pledged to prosecute those responsible for knocking it down.
"These developers have got a whole lot to answer for," Mr Wynne said. "It's extraordinarily cavalier behaviour by a couple of cavalier developers." He said the state government would now consider increasing penalties for commercial developments.
The developers are thought to potentially face planning and building fines of up to $380,000 for the demolition, but Cr Doyle said that, under certain circumstances, it may be possible to fine them more.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne and Lord Mayor Robert Doyle at the Carlton site on Tuesday. Photo: Eddie Jim
"Under the Planning Act there are further penalties that can apply," the lord mayor said. "If I were to pursue the maximum ... these people may face penalties of up to $1 million."
Melbourne City Council inspectors confirmed prior to the pub's destruction that it had not been so badly fire damaged it would need to be destroyed.
The Environment Protection Authority is also investigating whether materials on the site, which may include asbestos, have been correctly handled.
The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union visited the site on Tuesday, and its chief safety officer said demolition workers who had been on the site may have been exposed to asbestos. The union's Gerry Ayers said the company had "broken almost every occupational health and safety law".
The local MP for the area, the Greens' Ellen Sandell, said that the developers who had authorised destruction of the pub should be forced to rebuild it.
Meanwhile, two law students from Melbourne University – furious at the destruction of their favourite drinking hole – have begun proceedings in the state planning tribunal against the site's owners.
Duncan Wallace and Tim Staindl, both third-year law students, filed their application in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Tuesday. It demanded that 160 Leicester Pty Ltd, a company owned by Mr Kutlesovski and Mr Shaqiri, be ordered to "restore the building ... as nearly as practicable to its state prior to the illegal demolition".
A petition law students started this week demanding the pub be rebuilt by Tuesday afternoon had more than 5000 signatures.
