As Melburnians are rousing from sleep, Shane Priest is nearing the end of his morning at the city's major wholesale market. While the sprawling Melbourne Market in the city's north is closed to the public, the fruit and vegetables sold here are destined for the shelves of independent grocers and supermarkets, restaurants and cafes.
Priest, a fourth-generation fruit grower and wholesaler, has leased a stall at the market in Epping for the past decade. He now finds himself in a legal standoff over his expired rental agreement at the market.
Last week, the Victorian government-owned Melbourne Market Authority (MMA) launched legal action to evict wholesalers at Epping who refuse to sign new leases with yearly rent increases of up to 3.6% in addition to CPI. At the current rate of inflation, this equates to annual rent increases of up to 6%.
Priest says he is unsure of his future as a trader at the market, where he has leased a stall for the past decade. "We really don't know what we're going to do," he says.
Read more at The Guardian
