The news that Federation Square will be the likely new home for an Apple megastore should be a wake-up call to Melburnians to protect one of our city's most loved and frequented public squares and cultural precincts before its character is irrevocably changed.

Apple is believed to be in the final stages of lengthy and secretive negotiations with Fed Square management and the state government over a new $50 million glass-ceilinged megastore to be housed in a redesigned Yarra building – now the home of the Koorie Heritage Trust.

Federation Square: Not appropriate for a massive Apple shop.

Allowing access to such a significant public site to one of the biggest US mega-corporations will irrevocably change the character of Fed Square from a thriving and diverse public square and vital cultural precinct to something more akin to a generic shopping mall.

At the very least, the Victorian public should expect a proper process of public consultation before this proposal proceeds.