RELATED: Theatre’s curtain call
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RELATED: Lessons not learned
RELATED: Plea for help made to Premier
RELATED: Millions unpaid to local tradies
RELATED: Theatre pay row
UPDATE: Contract Control Services project manager Simon Ireland issued the following statement to the Bendigo Advertiser.
“The dispute with subcontractor payments is a matter of unassessed, unapproved variations to the works that currently reside with the department of education and their consultants.”
Mr Ireland would not comment on when subcontractors would receive the money owed to them or whether the building was compliant.
UPDATE: CITY of Greater Bendigo Council City Futures director Stan Liacos has denied subcontractors’ claims that the Ulumbarra Theatre is unsafe.
The subcontractors today alleged that the building should not have been issued a certificate of occupancy as compliance paperwork was not properly completed.
Mr Liacos said everything was in order.
“We have the right for occupancy,” he said.
“That shouldn’t even be in question.”
The subcontractors said the building was unsafe and was not fit for use.
UPDATE: A group of 17 subcontractors on the Ulumbarra Theatre project have received no reply from Premier Daniel Andrews after sending him a plea for help late last week.
The group sent Mr Andrews an email on Friday asking him to help them recoup money owed to them by the project’s lead contractor, Melbourne-based builder Contract Control Services.
Mr Andrews said in June he would be willing to meet with subcontractors if the payment issue was not resolved soon.
The Bendigo Advertiser has contacted Mr Andrews for comment.
EARLIER: SUBCONTRACTORS on the Ulumbarra Theatre project are threatening to decommission the building, which has been operating since May.
Local businesses who worked on the theatre are collectively owed at least $3.6 million for works completed and unpaid variations.
At a meeting attended by 13 affected businesses this morning, tradespeople outlined their plan to shut the building if they weren’t paid the money owed.
“There’s a distinct possibility the contractors will work together to decommission the place and render it inoperable because it’s not safe,” one subcontractor said.
“That’s part of our collective plan. We don’t believe it should be operational for health and safety reasons and for the fact that we’ve delivered the job and haven’t been paid.”
Subcontractors said compliance certification had not been fulfilled on several aspects of the job, making it unsafe for use.
The Department of Education approved a variation payment to the build’s lead contractor, Contract Control, in June but this money has not made its way to subcontractors.
The Bendigo Advertiser has contacted Contract Control for comment.
More to come.
