Toxic waste battle: Melbourne hotel accused of putting lives at risk

An underground carpark at a Melbourne CBD apartment complex has been used to store hotel quarantine linen marked “Terminal/Positive Cases”.

The revelation has shocked the 450 plus residents that access the car and has led to the 408 Lonsdale St owners’ corporation considering legal action against the neighbouring Novotel/Ibis Melbourne Central hotel, who they say are at fault for putting residents at risk of infection numerous times a day.

The hotel, situated at 399 Little Lonsdale St, owns the strata title of some of the parking spaces. However, the owners’ corporation own a range of facilities in the shared car park that require access including an adjacent roller door exit onto a nearby laneway, storage facilities, hard a rubbish room emergency exits and an alarm system.

The buildings back onto each other.

The hotel initially sought assurance from owners’ corporation that they would disallow residents or subcontractors access to the area without prior agreement.

The owners’ corporation managers refused on the basis that the hotel had no right to use the carpark for Covid quarantine purposes.

The situation escalated when an owners’ corporation managers’ employee was detained by Victoria Police hotel security while conducting an inspection that the hotel claimed, “caused quite a concern for Vic Pol and the authorities as they were considered trespassing and posing a potential risk to the hotel quarantine program”.

The owners’ corporation manager then accused the hotel of misinforming police “as to the boundaries of the two buildings involved”.

Residents of 408 Lonsdale have become increasingly concerned over the storage of waste materials, as well as yellow wheelie bins that contain medical waste sealed only with masking tape.

On 17 May, the owners’ corporation manager wrote to the hotel manager, “The hotel is not entitled to store Covid-19 materials anywhere within the boundaries of 408 Lonsdale St. To do so would require a unanimous resolution of the ­owners’ corporation. The current storing of quarantine materials marked ‘Terminal/Positive Cases’ must cease, and these must be ­removed immediately.”

The hotel managers response was the word “Noted”.

A further response also noted, “We may need to seek further clarification on the term ‘Covid-related material’, and if it is required we will meet any of the obligations. For now I have had the trolleys removed.”

Lawyers for the owners’ corporation have highlighted “grave concerns”.

“We are instructed that personnel who are involved in the hotel quarantine program, either as security or hotel staff, are ­frequently accessing the lifts to exit the carpark and are walking through the common lobby areas of the building on their way to or from the Novotel building,” the lawyers wrote in the letter.

“This is extremely concerning … not only are the residents restricted from accessing common property in the carpark, but they are also then subjected to a greater risk of exposure to Covid-19 as these personnel are getting in common lifts, potentially touching common surfaces such as door handles, etc. Such access must cease immediately.”

On Wednesday, a  spokeswoman for  Novotel/Ibis Melbourne Central said the carpark was “privately owned by the hotel”.

“Due to these strengthened infection control processes and the fact all staff are vaccinated, the public health advice is consistent across the hotel quarantine program that CQV staff arriving and leaving from hotel quarantine sites do not pose an increased infection risk to the public,” she said.

“All rubbish disposal and linen services at quarantine hotels are conducted under (infection control) rules.”

Irit Jackson, 3rd June 2021