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A PROMISING ELECTION RESULT
IF Labor keep
their promises Congratulations are due for the Labor party, who on the 24th of November won the Victorian State Election by a landslide and will be in power in the state for another 4 years.
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LTHOUGH this may not have been the result all market users were looking for, there still could be good news to come from this re-election.
give the government’s assessment the level of “independence and veracity” that it currently lacks. In fact, since Jaala Pulford’s announcement there has been no action to actually start this
In the absence of a change of leadership, our hope is that at the very least the Labor leaders can hold true to the promises they have already made to Victorians. One such promise was made well before the election by the Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford, who stated back in August that it was an “opportune time to assess the market’s operations and make sure it is set up for sustained success”.
THERE IS AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM HOWEVER, AND THAT IS THE ONGOING ISSUE OF INDUSTRY OWNERSHIP AND THE MELBOURNE MARKET.
This promise of a review was a welcome one for wholesalers at the Melbourne Market, who have been plagued by concerns like unreasonable charges, poor management practises, and a failure to run the market competitively. These problems and more have been reported but have seen almost no response, which has led to issues such as refrigeration prices doubling in 3 years, the trans-shipping of banned goods within the Market, unauthorised sub-leasing and car park trading activities, and the failure to develop multiple uses and income streams to address rising costs. If the government were to truly help the Melbourne Market get back on its feet and be competitive in this country, it would require a review with a bit more backbone that what has been promised so far. Shane Schnitzler, President of Fresh State, has publically called for an external review that would
review process at all, making it seem that this was an empty promise to placate voters until the State Election was concluded. There is an elephant in the room however, and that is the ongoing issue of industry ownership and the Melbourne Market. Irrespective of which government is in power in Victoria, the Melbourne Market remains the only state market that is owned by the government, and unlike the
other markets around the nation we are being held back by this factor. This means less trade in Victoria as growers go to other state markets, and fewer local horticultural jobs.
We can only hope that the Minister for Agriculture intends to keep their promise now that the Labor government has been re-elected, and that at best there will be a proper external review of market operations, or at the very least that they will finally begin the internal review process.
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
INDUSTRY OWNED OPERATIONS
