Melbourne live music restaurant The Vineyard in St Kilda will live on after a last minute reprieve by Port Phillip Council this week.
Live music in Australia's second largest city continues to be under treat by the State lead Brumby government but at a local level, Port Phillip Council are listening to the residents, in part with credit to Councillor Serge Thomann.Thomann stepped up to take a political position after the dirty deeds of the previous council ended with the still unexplained arson of music venue The Palace. What reads like an episode of Underbelly conveniently left a vacant block once the ashes were removed for a high-rise building that the council had approved.
With the new council, including Councillor Thomann, there is a new way of thinking. "The City of Port Phillip strongly supports live music and its cultural institutions," Councillor Thomann tells Undercover News. "The St Kilda Festival and the St Kilda film Festival are our major focus. The Vineyard is a very special place in many people's heart. I certainly would like the Vineyard to remain the way it is as this is the way people like. By giving an option to the current operators to remain there through an open and transparent process is the best way to go as many residents have asked us to".
The almost closure of The Vineyard showed change was needed to demonstrate how Council maintains and processes the culture of the area. "At the end of a lease of a property on Crown Land, the Council has to go through a proper tender process," he says. "We want to put in place an open process that will maintain the culture and community benefits that residents currently enjoy at this little oasis on Acland Street".
Since Thomann was elected to council, St Kilda Council has had a number of wins for the community and for music, entertainment and the arts. "The new council has confirmed the St Kilda Festival for the next four years (currently looking for a major sponsor), is undertaking a review of the St Kilda Film Festival to take it to the next level as the most prominent short films festival in Australia, has stopped the Triangle development which would have hurt the local feel of the place, entered an agreement with the Palais to keep it open while new plans are proposed for the site".
