Australasian biker news
Heaven still in purgatory
ANDREW HOUGH
28jan06
A MAN linked to the controversial Heaven Nightclub has spoken publicly for
the first time, hitting out at critics of the club, his past crimes and his
alleged links to bikie gangs.
Paul Pavlovski, the majority
shareholder of company West North Pty Ltd - which owns the freehold to the
Newmarket Hotel site on West Tce along with prominent Adelaide businessman
Damian Lester - this week broke his silence on the club's troubles.
Located in the city's west end, the
nightclub was once a thriving hub of activity. But for almost six months,
the lucrative site, host to about 6500 clubbers a week in its prime, has
been sitting empty as a bitter dispute rages between the site's landlords
about who has the right to buy, sell and lease the club while allegations
fly about its links to bikies and incidents involving drug overdoses.
The state's courts, including the
Supreme Court, have also been host to legal battles involving the club and
its owners.
All the while the 100 people employed
at the club, with an annual turnover of $5-6 million , remain out of work
while the doors remain closed.
Mr Pavlovski, who has been linked to
former Gypsy Joker Anthony Sobey and has several criminal convictions, told
The Advertiser he just "wanted to sell the freehold" and ensure a new
landlord can operate the venue. That plan has hit a snag, after a bitter
fall out with his co-owner caused Mr Lester to remove the right for Heaven
to use his car park next door, meaning it was now in breach of licensing
rules governing the site's licence.
It is understood that is being
reviewed by Adelaide City Council's planning department.
Mr Lester, a director of company In
the City, has twice failed to gain approval for the nightclub's licence
after police raised concerns both times.
He has also lost a Supreme Court
battle with West North over, what documents show is, almost $45,000 in
unpaid rents.
While admitting to knowing Sobey -
"Adelaide is a small place" - Mr Pavlovski, who has criminal convictions for
possessing cocaine and serious assault, rejected suggestions he had links
with bikie gangs.
"I have never been to a bikie gang
members' house or clubrooms in my life, I mean who knows who a bikie is
anyway," he said. "I just came across him (Sobey) and he seemed like a nice
bloke.
"I don't want to run the club
(Heaven), I just want to collect my rent.
"I don't want to fight in the courts
all my life."
The club was forced to close in
September last year after its former management, Adelaide City
Entertainment, and its former director John Pike, got into financial
difficulty.
The club, which also plays host to
music concerts, had reported links to the Hells Angels, whose security firm
Total Control ran security until October 2004. Last year, the South
Australian Liquor Licensing Court heard Mr Pavlovski, an associate of
Heaven's former manager Pike, had been found to not be a "fit and proper"
person in Victoria.
In the first case of its type in South
Australia, Liquor Licensing Commissioner Bill Pryor and Police Commissioner
Mal Hyde both lodged intervention orders against several people they
believed were "undesirable" to operate nightclubs. Mr Pavlovski, who
operates hotels in Victoria, said he had no ambition to operate the
nightclub and has never made an application to do so.
"It is very frustrating (the closure)
because it is a beautiful property," he said. "The sooner it is open the
better. I think the community is suffering greatly."
A newly formed Victorian company, the
Heaven Group Ltd - with its director English businessman Clive Benson-Brown
and shareholder, Melbourne solicitor Sam Holt, the son of former Prime
Minister Harold Holt - have applied to the Liquor Licensing Commission to
operate the club. The parties are due to appear in the Liquor Licensing
Court on Tuesday to set a hearing date where several issues will be thrashed
out after a conciliation meeting this month failed to resolve concerns.
Since that meeting, the financial
background of Mr Benson-Brown has been carefully scrutinised by authorities,
including his involvement in several court cases in Western Australia. Mr
Holt did not return calls while Mr Benson-Brown could not be contacted.
Assistant Liquor and Gambling
Commissioner Michael Jarvis declined to comment on the case's specifics. He
did confirm the commission was looking into Heaven Group's background.
"We have to be satisfied they are
suitable people to operate a nightclub," he said. Mr Lester, who has
objected to Heaven Group's bid, said he was an "innocent victim" in the
whole debacle.
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