CBD rivulet collapse cause still a mystery

A REPORT expected to determine the cause of the Hobart Rivulet collapse is yet to be handed down — nine months after the incident occurred.

Insurance company AIG said it was still waiting on the structural engineers report.

In February, an AIG spokeswoman told the Mercury the report had been completed but more information was needed.

This week, she said the delay was partly related to restricted access to the site because of the dangerous conditions.

However, she said the findings of the report would be confidential and the information would be used for claims made against the party or parties deemed responsible for the collapse.

The Hobart City Council commissioned a report from engineering firm GHD and it is also yet to be completed.

General Manager Nick Heath said there had been no insurance claim made by another party against the council.

“Until we know the cause of the incident, the council is not in a position to consider whether it may or may not lodge a claim,’’ he said.

“It is recognised that the public has an interest in this matter, however it is prudent and necessary that confidentiality is maintained when dealing with legal matters so as not to prejudice an outcome.

“Importantly, the rivulet now has a new permanent wall in place and it is functioning as it should.”

AIG, considered a world expert in property casualty insurance, is representing the owners of the three properties that were flooded and sustained substantial damage — the Cat and Fiddle Arcade, owned by Gerard O’Brien; and the Murray St construction site and the Liverpool St Myer buildings, both owned by the Kalis Group.

Kalis Group chief executive Alexia Kalis said the company had yet to receive an update from the insurance company.

But she said she was very happy with the progress of the Myer rebuild.

“The good news is the building is rising up with the ground floor complete and they are working on propping up the first floor,” Ms Kalis said.

Tasmania’s director of building control Dale Webster said he was still considering what further action was needed over breaches in the protection work processes that preceded the collapse of the Hobart Rivulet wall.

Cat and Fiddle Manager Peter Sullivan said Portmans would reopen in June once the shopfront and fitout was completed.

The shops Jacqui E and Cue in Murray St next to the Myer site both sustained substantial damage and will not reopen on their original sites.

Cue has moved to Liverpool St and Jacqui E has chosen not to reopen in Hobart at this stage.