ISSUE 46 — APR 2019
A Market Visit for the Prime Minister Just when it seems like a normal day at the market something is bound to happen to shake things up, and in March we had a bigger shake-up than normal with a visit from the Australian Prime Minister. On the 14th of March the market was in for a surprise when Scott Morrison decided to visit the Melbourne Market to meet with market users and tour the facility. Wholesalers, retailers, and forklift drivers had the opportunity to shake hands with the Prime Minister as he experienced an early morning at the market. And from this visit it seems that Morrison, along with Katie Allen and Gladys Liu the candidates from Higgins and from Chisholm, gained a healthy respect for the everyday experience of a market worker. Despite this being an unexpected visit, Fresh State’s President Shane Schnitzler met with the PM during his tour of the facility and took the chance to have a quick chat with him about the market. The PM praised the Epping market’s cleanliness and professional appearance, but Shane raised
the point that despite these factors we struggle to be competitive with other Australian markets due to the way Epping is being run. They then spoke about the idea of there eventually being no government involvement in the market, and the PM responded positively to this, saying that if that were the case perhaps it could be called “the People’s Market”. Scott Morrison’s visit to the market may have been intended to promote his government’s support of small and family businesses and their aim to reduce the cost of doing business, but for market users the PM’s acknowledgement of the positive impact of an industry-owned market model is just as important. An industry-owned market model would mean a step toward real progress and making the Melbourne Market competitive once again. 7
