John and Jamie Murdoch - Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians

I wonder if this guy will work out that the rents and high costs have killed the markets? (Probably too simple.)
I wonder if this guy will see that the markets have become a food hall and no longer hold appeal to people from outer suburbia or the tourist industry? (Not even the locals are returning)
I wonder if he will feel the resentment and disrespect that the Murdoch’s have created?

Will he:
Crunch the numbers on the futility of mid-week opening. (It’s guaranteed rent increase for the Murdoch’s but pure loss for the stallholders)
Check the authenticity of the outgoing costs or take seriously the expertise of the stallholder?
Can he work with the Murdoch’s blind resistance to the idea that costs and stallholders concerns are vitally significant?
Will he be ‘directed’ to conduct his surveys to come up ‘within the range’ of possibility.
Can people speak candidly and anonymously or will they be intimidated into saying what they need to say to appease their rulers.
Will he acknowledge the contribution and value of long term (and evicted) stallholders?
Will he study the lease agreements – secure both parties?

Maybe he is just another expert being paid big bucks to write yet another biased justification for the filing system. How many experts does it take? And is this where the ‘advertising’ fees are being absorbed?

I heard that one guy, when asked how he viewed the markets and the management, went into a tirade of its all F…ed

And is he just another Ms M or is this the end of her?

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Adele Carles fights for fremantle markets

Last Sunday Adele Carles impressed everyone at the Fremantle Market rally. Unlike many politicians, there was no double talk or empty promises or excuses. She went straight to the point and made her intentions clear. It’s time to act and it’s time to right a wrong.

Adele has been thorough in her research and has put in a massive amount of time and energy. True to her word, she was off and running Monday morning. Stallholders and the community need to step up now and back her.

She has spoken with a lot of stallholders and has most of the detail but some people have been hesitant to speak and I fear that they may not realize that someone is there to help them. There are a few people who have language difficulties or fear authority. I ask all stallholders to unite and make sure that no one is forgotten. Take people by the hand if they feel intimidated. Everyone needs to know that they are safe and they can speak candidly and honestly with her.


She said at the rally that she needs everyone to contact her within the next two weeks.
Please call her office on 336 7000 or email adele.carles@mp.wa.gov.au or just write her a letter.

Mayor Pettit did not show at the rally and since the eviction and dismantling of the stallholders association we have heard nothing from him other than: let’s move on and his suggestion that all the fuss was a personality conflict. Sad to say, it looks like the new mayor is just another Tagliaferri; a missing mayor.

There is no doubt that the council is responsible for this destructive lease, and so far, every indication is that they would rather have the markets collapse than admit fault or show leadership. 25% of the stallholders have already left; more are trying to sell out or are planning on leaving within the next few months. Even the building itself is in a state of neglect. The council is willing to throw 5Million bucks at it, but who is keeping watch? Why has council allowed the repair and maintenance to go unchecked? Are the ratepayers of Fremantle expected to finance the Murdoch Empire? I thought the markets were a Fremantle asset.


Is Fremantle council just lazy, incompetent or indifferent? Those lawyers knew exactly what they were doing when they drew up that lease – they were blowing off the stallholders, totally excluding them and the people of Freo.

It is on record that the Murdoch’s threatened litigation and stated that they would run the markets into the ground if they didn’t get a lease renewal. Obviously, council caved in due to bullying and the stallholders have become the sacrificial lambs.

Council lawyers knew there was no legal threat. But surely the point was that if they were making these threats with only a few years to go on the lease then why did council think that signing them up for another 20 years would be a solution? It would be the very reason to NOT sign them up.

Do the people of Fremantle know that the custodians of their properties are making decision based purely on intimidation?



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Fremantle council have failed miserably

Fremantle council have failed miserably as custodians of the Fremantle markets. As a public asset they need to address the fact that they have allowed private enterprise to pocket ratepayer money. The council has written themselves out of the controlling seat and allowed the very nature of the markets to be vulnerable and compromised. There are very serious questions which must be asked and answered:

How professional are your processes and outcomes.
Did you achieve the best deal for the ratepayers?
How much has this debacle cost the ratepayers in legal fees and council administrative time?
What happened to your stated intent of the “Low Cost Environment?”
Jamie Murdoch said on Stateline that average rents are *$300. (3 days trade)
That figure multiplied by 173 stalls x 52weeks = $2.7 million. Rent to council $550,000.
Who got it wrong? Council valuer or Murdoch valuer? Is a 400% Murdoch profit ethical or acceptable?
* $300 is understated but not worth arguing about, I think the figures above make the point.

And even now, a year later, all parties agreed to review the valuations and accept the umpire’s decision but the council has once again been wishy-washy in their instruction. Why have they not called for a full and independent evaluation without biased instruction? Why is the report marked confidential rather than have full transparency to all concern parties. The specific brief only questioned if the Murdoch valuation was ‘within the range of fair market rent’. The conclusion was that it was but, that is not a defined estimate of value.

This is of vital importance as the repercussions will be far reaching. This valuation will impact on commercial real estate throughout the Fremantle CBD. The council is already lamenting the recent loss of a number of large retailers and the impact of that on surrounding businesses. It’s no secret that the markets have had enormous pulling power over the years and that businesses through the town have profited by the overflow of traffic. It seems that the council, like the Murdoch, view the markets as just another shopping venue but time will tell the story.


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take the money and run

Richard Branson is a very successful and clever businessman. He has a lot of fun, he is admired and respected and he is very, very wealthy. When asked about his phenomenal success he says simply, ‘I look after my staff’. His formula is simple; he believes that when the staff are happy they work like they own the business. They take on the responsibility of making the customers happy and when the customers are happy they keep coming back. This makes Richard Branson and his shareholders very happy and very successful.

In light of the current recession it’s pretty easy to see that many of the huge business collapses are the result of administrator’s obscene and reckless greed. With an insatiable lust for profit big business has replaced good personnel with cheap technology; they have severely reduced staff, abandoned customer service, invented dodgy service fees, taken jobs overseas and returned inferior products and services. Short-term they all made out like bandits but it never was sustainable. The world economy is collapsing and look who is being asked to bail them out – the taxpayers! Yes, the working man is now being asked to pick up the tab and bail out the very people who have robbed and betrayed them.

If we ever manage to find our way back will we know better and will we do better? I think not. Just look around and you can see the same scenario playing out all around you.

A successful business can not survive on a smash and grab basis. Richard Branson’s very simply formula applies to any business; if they have any intention of going the distance. Overpricing or under servicing is either a matter of stupidity or it is a deliberate attempt at grabbing the money and running.

This of course brings me back to the madness of the Fremantle markets. When the management appears to be destroying a successful enterprise you can’t help but wonder why. There really isn’t much to manage; basically they are landlords and although the markets are under one roof they are actually run by all of the small businesses operating within. It is not a matter of real estate, it is fundamentally a retail outlet, but over time it has evolved into something much more than just that.

People don’t just pop into the markets to shop. It’s a place to go on weekends, almost like a work of art in motion. You go and spend time there like it’s an exhibition; you take visitors down to check it out, you look for unique and unusual products, listen to buskers, interact with merchants, find bargains and homemade things and get caught up in the sounds and smells and colours.

Freo markets is not just another of the cheap junk markets which most cities have and until recently they have attracted innovative people and ideas. Many of the stallholders have been there for at least 10 years and some for almost 30. They have relationships with customers and are as much a part of the markets as the products are. It is a community within its own right and it is filled with character and characters.

When the Murdoch brothers (the management) renewed their lease with the Fremantle council everything changed and became crazy. They both make a lot of money from the rents and have done pretty much bugga all as the stall holders evolved and went about making the markets what they are today.

For reasons beyond comprehension the Murdoch’s increased the rents by around 80% and then announced that they would change the very nature of the markets and redevelop the outdoor area into a glorified ‘Italian style’ delicatessen. Established businesses were stolen by legal technicalities, others were so severely downsized that they were pretty much bullied into leaving and no matter how they want to dress it up or justify it they have betrayed, lied to, mislead and robbed the people who are the markets.

I know that I have been accused of conspiracy theory before and that much of my questioning does not provide answers or facts and details. All I can say is that when something doesn’t make any sense at all it’s because it is either untrue or because someone is hiding something.

Why won’t the Murdoch’s show their valuation? Could it be that they never had one done?

Why was that lease renewed before the old one expired?

Why didn’t the lease go out to public tender?

Why won’t the Murdoch’s or the Council buy out the stalls that are being destroyed by the redevelopment?

Why does the head lease exclude the stall-holders rights and give carte blanche to the Murdoch’s? Did the Murdoch’s draft this lease? Did the council really examine it?

Why weren’t stall holders or their association consulted about the changes?

Why was Richard Murphy (Stall-holders spokesperson) really evicted?

Who can’t predict that the redevelopment is going to be a complete failure? Wasn’t that Mayor Tagliaferri’s idea to begin with? Was that a condition of the lease?

Who doesn’t know that Morley markets, e-shed and Canningvale aren’t offering great deals for Freo stall-holders to come and join them?

Who can’t see that when the stall holders leave or fail then the market collapses?

Who doesn’t understand that when rents go up - prices go up and sales go down?

Who doesn’t know that when the markets go - the tourists stop coming and that business's throughout Freo lose?

WHO CARES?

Not the Murdoch’s. Why? Could it be that they have no intention of going the distance? Why else would they destroy or disregard the stallholders?

It would make sense if they didn’t care about the longevity or the success of the markets. What if they doubled the rent - which would makes the books look very attractive and then just on-sold the lease?

If this is true then let me laugh out loud now, because the stallholders will be long gone and the council and the Murdoch's will be left riding their big fat white elephant because I don’t believe that anyone will be lining up to take all of that on.

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Fremantle Markets - john and jamie Murdoch

So much has been said about the outrageous rent increases at Freo Markets and the arrogant and senseless actions of the Murdoch management. I was stunned to hear Mr Murdoch state that many stallholders were happy to accept the rent increases. Am I now stating the obvious when I correct them by pointing out that those who have agreed to accept the increases will only survive if they can index the rent increase into their sales?

The bottom line is that stall holders have paid tens of thousands of dollars for their stalls, and for most, it is their only source of income. The current situation makes it near impossible to sell their stalls, so they are either forced into walking away with nothing or paying the higher rents and hoping they can survive. Happy? I don’t think.

Many stall holders have already left, but others will need to move out, or will be moved on, to make room for the new cheese, olive oil, butcher, seafood, coffee shops and cooking demo's. What a joke! That simply turns a Freo icon and tourist destination into another Woolworths or Coles. Perhaps if the Murdoch’s left their ivory towers for a day they might notice that Freo already has a few coffee shops and seafood outlets.

Some stall holders have had their space reduced, some will be moved into unsuitable locations and others will be evicted. The only hope for any justice is through the stall holders association and now we find that Richard Murphy and other members have been evicted. Do we sack union members in this country?

Thankfully, the Fremantle Council is finally listening and swinging into action. With the support of the Fremantle Herald, the stall-holders association, the rate payers and market customers at least we can expose greed and bullying tactics where they exist.

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