John and Jamie Murdoch- Fremantle Markets
ABOUT 100 stallholders crammed into the Fremantle council chambers last week for a special meeting to review the Fremantle Markets head lease, but half the councillors did not even attend.
Council agreed to review the head lease following allegations of breaches relating to the terms of subleases, the negotiation of fair market rent, quarterly meetings with stallholders and having constructive dialogue between stallholders and management.
A report will be made to council later this month and no further rent increases or lease and license terminations will be made until all the alleged breaches are resolved.
Mayor Peter Tagliaferri said he would attend the meeting but pulled out at the last minute while other councillors known to be supportive of the Fremantle Markets’ directors, John and Jamie Murdoch, were also absent.
Deputy mayor John Dowson chaired the meeting and said the “outpouring of grief and shock” by stallholders at the alleged rent rises and management practices at Fremantle Markets was “upsetting”.
Cr Haney was quick to explain at the meeting that she had not refused to meet with the Murdoch brothers as they had alleged the previous week, and had actually tried to meet with them before the council meeting.
Cr Georgie Adeane said she was particularly impressed with Cr Bill Massie’s suggestion that displaced or adversely affected tenants receive compensation from management for loss of income.
“I have great confidence in the council’s conviction and the ability of the officers to amend the problems and bring the tenants of this iconic building into line,” she said.
Stallholders Association secretary Colin Wright’s speech was met with applause from the gallery.
“Jamie claims publicly that ‘over half have happily accepted these increases’ but what he doesn’t say is this group is predominantly casual stalls who have to be happy,” he said.
“We are already seeing more empty casual stalls, and permanents who have been hit with their increases are starting to feel the reality of falling returns.”
Jamie Murdoch attended the meeting and was booed by several stallholders.
He said the matter hinged on several legal issues, which would hopefully be resolved soon.
http://fremantle.inmycommunity.com.au/news-and-views/local-news/Head-lease-gets-review/7522625/
Fremantle Gazette 7th April 09
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Labels: fremantle market stallholders, fremantle markets rent increases, john and jamie murdoch, sonya greens blog
posted by Editor at 10:27 AM
2 Comments:
When you are given two weeks to accept a ridiculous rent increase or walk away from your business and initial investment, you do not sign it 'happily'. Not one permanent stallholder has 'happily ' signed their new agreement.
So true, especially as the initial notices were handed out just before Christmas. Knowing that the stallholders had invested everthing in stock and that for many pre-Christmas is the time of year to get ahead and cover the leaner trading periods it was outrageous. Manipulative at best and certainly coersive.
Perhaps the Murdoch's think the word devestated is a synonym for happy?
It seems to me that the Murdoch's have a lot of difficulty with words. like:
Low cost environment
Secure tenure
Loyalty and
Fair market rent.
The greatest problem the Murdochs have with words is that to them words are meaningless. Especially in the form of promise or hand-shake.
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