Former Fisherman Escapes The Net In David V Goliath Court Showdown
The Age
Friday January 13, 2006
THE Port of Melbourne Corporation has suffered an embarrassing court loss to an amateur lawyer in yet another setback to its attempts to stop people from using the Footscray wharf.
The port authority's lawyers had applied for a Supreme Court injunction banning former fisherman Robin McGarvie from mooring at the wharf and forcing him to pay the port's legal costs. The port claims the wharf is dangerously run-down. But yesterday Justice Kevin Bell denied the application, swayed by arguments from Mr McGarvie's representative, Grenville Silvester - a fellow boatman with no legal training - that Mr McGarvie was no longer trespassing because he had moved his boat a few metres outside the port's property.Mr Silvester argued that it would be unfair to stop Mr McGarvie from crossing the wharf to reach his boat while other fishermen and sailors used the site.The battle for access to the wharf began in July last year when the port gave 40 boat owners a few days' notice to leave, claiming a confidential report had found the wharf was structurally unsound.But by October the port had been forced to compromise, paying up to $7000 to persuade most boat owners to leave while striking a deal to allow four long-time boaties to live there indefinitely, as long as no new boats arrived.Unaware of the deal, a month later Mr McGarvie moored near the wharf, hoping to finish fitting out the 16-metre trawler that doubles as his home. Despite repeated warnings from the port to leave, he won the support of the long-term resident boatmen.Mr McGarvie says the Footscray wharf is the only place in Melbourne big enough and cheap enough for him to anchor his 38-tonne boat while he makes it seaworthy to sail to Tasmania. Outside court yesterday, Mr McGarvie, Mr Silvester and Maribyrnong Mayor Janet Rice hugged and whooped with delight at the surprise win."Now we just hope that the Port of Melbourne will be a bit more willing to sit down with us and the boat owners and sort out a sensible solution about access," Cr Rice said. Port of Melbourne chief executive Stephen Bradford conceded that "it's embarrassing that we lost", but would not rule out further legal action against Mr McGarvie. "If we do nothing and there's a collapse (on the wharf) and somebody's injured, everybody would be all over us . . . and saying 'you're responsible'. So you can't win," Mr Bradford said.He said redevelopment plans for the wharf could be presented to Maribyrnong Council late next month.
© 2006 The Age