Hans Lovejoy
Beleaguered employment and training provider NORTEC has lost a court case against local lawyer Mark Swivel in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal
(NCAT).
It’s the latest chapter for the government-funded organisation, which terminated the leases of local small businesses and sold three business incubator sites last December.
Swivel, who is also fronts Russian men’s choir Duskyesky, told The Echo his claim against NORTEC was it charged rent it should not have charged after last year’s floods.
‘My claim that I shouldn’t have paid rent from the flood in April to when the works started in July was successful.’
‘The Tribunal found that the premises were not fit or safe to be used as offices… so NORTEC should not have charged rent. Simple really.
‘NORTEC resisted every step before and during the hearing. Everyone in the organisation, including the former CEO, denied we had a claim. [The result of the case was] they are obliged to refund rent for that period and compensate me for the cleaning I did that they should have done. Other tenants should be compensated the same way.’
Swivel says he contacted NORTEC to ask if that will happen but is ‘yet to receive a reply’.
‘To be fair, they’ve reimbursed me already. It was always an outrage that they didn’t waive rent from the flood onwards.’
NORTEC was contacted for comment but did not reply by deadline.
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