The makings of Landacq

In the mid-1990s the situation came to a head. With many wholesalers frustrated at a perceived lack of focus from the Brisbane Market Trust in cultivating a sense of community and consultation between landlord and tenants, tensions peaked, and all options were on the table, including setting up a rival market where wholesalers could govern themselves and do a better job. The regulations that governed the Brisbane Markets, the City of Brisbane Market Act 1960, contained an exclusivity clause: all wholesaling (including the sale and storage) of fresh produce within the City of Brisbane was restricted to the central market that was located in Rocklea. In April 1994, the Department of Primary Industries, under Minister Ed Casey, released a discussion paper concerning the review of regulations at the Brisbane Markets, which highlighted the need for a reassessment of this exclusivity clause. This move prompted Brismark, with Gerry Garard as General Manager and a majority of Brisbane Markets wholesalers in support, to establish Landacq in July 1994, with the sole purpose of acquiring a parcel of land suitable for an alternative market site. The land was to be held as an investment, but also as a potential location to develop a new market under the control of the wholesalers themselves. According to the Landacq Prospectus, the acquisition of land would “provide an invaluable basis for conducting negotiations with the operator of the Brisbane Markets, the state government and other interested parties, as to the future direction of the central market”. In notes provided to Minister Casey, Brismark outlined that wholesalers were “extremely concerned about their future” and wanted out of the current system because they had little control over the future of their business or the charges they were having to pay, which they did not believe “reflect[ed] the standard of the facilities made available”. “If we can’t produce some fair and reasonable arrangement with the government to acquire the market, then we believe that we have no option but to plan medium to long term a move into our own market,” the notes from Brismark said. “The market wholesaling sector, like any other industry sector, must surely be permitted the opportunity to control its own destiny.” In October 1994, Mr Garard wrote a letter to Minister Casey, informing him of the decision to formalise Brismark’s interest in acquiring the assets of the Brisbane Markets in Rocklea. “We … have come to the conclusion that the contention of exclusivity for the market is not a realistic expectation,” Mr Garard said. “On the basis of exclusivity being removed it is our position that there is no valid reason for government to remain involved in owning, controlling or supervising the Brisbane Markets. “If satisfactory progress cannot be made on this issue, we feel that we will be left with little option but to advance our thinkings on alternatives to Rocklea.” Continued on following page.

Brisbane Produce Market’s Covered Unloading Area at the time of the site’s purchase by Brisbane Markets Limited (above) and now with the roof extending all the way to Buildings B and C (below).

Continued from previous page. Within days of the letter to the Minister, the Chairman of the Brisbane Market Trust, Leon Wruck, ruled that the wholesaler representatives on the Board, being Mr Garard, Mr Joseph and Geoffrey Cumming, had a pecuniary conflict of interest and refused to allow them to participate in Trust meetings. He also wrote to the Minister requesting that he replace Mr Garard, Mr Cumming and Mr Joseph on the Board. Indeed, the situation deteriorated to such an extent that in December 1994, Mr Garard, Mr Cumming and Mr Joseph brought civil proceedings to the Supreme Court of Queensland against other members of the Board. When explaining the background of the case, Justice Ambrose said that wholesalers had become “concerned at the financial viability of their wholesale operations should the market rentals, fixed by the Trust, continue to increase, while at the same time there was the [potential] loss of the exclusivity provisions” prompting the creation of Landacq. Ultimately, Justice Ambrose decided in favour of the wholesaler representatives, saying that the exclusion of these parties from meetings was unlawful. After two years of frustrating searching, Landacq finally located an appropriate greenfield site in the Brisbane-Gold Coast corridor to the great relief of all concerned. On 31 July 1996, Landacq purchased a 41.67 hectare block of land at Yatala for $2.6 million and on 17 January 1997 the company purchased an adjoining 5.12 hectare block for $1.3 million. By the end of the 1998 financial year, Brismark had also purchased a further two adjoining blocks. According to Mr Joseph, Gold Coast City Council was extremely cooperative in their efforts to assist Landacq. “Gold Coast City Council really wanted us to move down there. We had 33 businesses committed to moving down to Yatala that would bring their employees, buyers, and the flow on economic benefits of a permanent workforce in the area,” Mr Joseph said. Landacq proceeded with a comprehensive study into the establishment of a tenant-controlled, state-of-the-art distribution centre, including a market, at the Yatala site. It turned out the wholesalers were right to be worried about the potential for the exclusivity arrangements to be lifted. Amendments to the Act, published on 2 December 1998, showed the exclusivity clause was to expire on 31 August 1999. This spurred on the approval for an Application for Operation Works to level the Yatala site, with a provision being that approval was extended for a period of six years, providing contingency for Brisbane Markets wholesalers. In the 1999 Landacq Annual Report, Mr Garard said “The very existence of [Landacq], together with its landholding, came about through a vision by a number of progressive, strategic thinking, cost conscious and industry minded people, who could clearly see both the unfolding disaster for primary wholesalers, and the rewards that would accrue from such a move.”

The Building G2 Commercial Centre as it looked when the site was purchased (top) and after the refurbishment of the building in 2016 (bottom).