“ALL we’re after is to get something resembles the status quo.”

The words of Mortlake Community Development Committee (MCDC) president, Kelvin Goodall, epitomise local sentiments regarding the dispute with Moyne Shire over the usage of a multipurpose room at the Mortlake Community Centre and the decision to escalate the matter to legal avenues.

With Moyne Shire announcing last month that it intends to move the new library hub into the space, effectively evicting several community groups who regularly use it, Mr Goodall said he believed the Shire would be “moving stuff into that back room” this week but he said the advice he had was that the Shire had not properly considered the terms of the lease.

“We sought legal advice to clarify what our position was,” he said.

“Well, that’s been clarified (and) we’ve exercised our rights.

“They’ve treated us as a corporation and we’re not a corporation – we’re an incorporated association.

“The section of the lease that they quote only applies if it’s a corporation, so it doesn’t apply to us.

“They don’t have a legal right to cancel the lease.”

When contacted by The Spectator, Moyne Shire replied in a statement, “Council is seeking advice from its lawyers on the matters raised by lawyers representing MCDC”.

“As this has now become a legal matter, Council will not be providing any further comment,” the statement said.

The Shire has engaged Melbourne-based law firm Maddocks, which Mr Goodall said he knew were often hired by local governments.

He said the community groups had been promised “options” by the Shire but said “they haven’t got any” that were suitable.

“One of the ones was, “oh they could use Council chambers’,” he said.

“But that’s for the Council. It’s all set up for a Council meeting.

“It’s not just meetings (we have). The room’s set up so you can have art classes, you can have a whole range of things – and that’s the problem, they don’t appear to listen.”

Mr Goodall said many people in Mortlake felt they were “losing something else because of the Shire”.

“The town’s in uproar,” he said.