6
OF AFFAIRS
issue 45 dec 2018
OF AFFAIRS
OF AFFAIRS
FUSED
CON
ABOUT MARKET TRADING HOURS? WE ARE TOO!
STOP for a moment and ask yourself one question. Do you know what the trading hours are at the market? If you’re scratching your head, you’re not alone. Retailers are confused, wholesalers are confused, Regional Buyers are confused, and even the people whose role it is to enforce the rules seem confused about this issue.
S
OME months ago the Melbourne Market Authority asked market users to complete a survey on their preferred market hours. The results were thoroughly inconclusive, with a third of market users wanting a later market, a third wanting an earlier market, and the final third wanting things to stay the same. So why is it that when two thirds of all market users wanted either a later market or no change at all, the MMA decided to pursue the opportunity to open the market earlier?
confusion over who is allowed into the market at these earlier hours and who is not. The purpose of this article isn’t to weigh-in on the debate about market hours. In fact, Fresh State is often asked what our stance is on this issue and the answer is very simple, we represent our members and our opinion reflects their views. The problem that is clear with the current situation is the poor level of communication from the MMA. Who exactly are the ‘approved’ early buyers?
If you step away from how it has been executed, the simple THE SIMPLE IDEA OF idea of consistent CONSISTENT OPENING HOURS opening hours, 3:30am every day, was not WAS NOT ACTUALLY A BAD actually a bad idea as it simplifies the issue of IDEA - BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT when the market can MARKET USERS ASKED FOR. be accessed. But this is not what market users asked for, and then just when these If there is a list of those with the paid new changes were settling in, the permit, then publish it. And there is decision to offer an Early Buyers Pass a whole new debate about whether at a cost of $10,000p.a for this trial was the Early Buyers Pass process is fair or also introduced. It seems we’re now not, especially considering that some back to square one, and there is still simply can’t afford it.
