Queen Victoria Market traders say they have no confidence in management more than 18 months after a historic strike and amid an executive exodus at the operator of the Melbourne icon.
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they → say → icon
Relations between the traders and managers at Queen Victoria Market Pty Ltd, which runs the heritage-listed site, have been worsening for years.
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which → run → years
An interim report into governance of the market, published by KordaMentha and considered by the City of Melbourne at its September 29 meeting, noted “low trust and insecurity” were key themes reported by traders.
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trust → publish → traders
“Phrases which have echoed persistently in consultation have been ‘disrespect’ and ‘lack of understanding’,” the report read.
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report → echo → understanding
Chief executive of four years Matt Elliott and Jane Fenton, who served for seven years as chair of the 14-member board, have resigned.
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who → serve → board
Fenton will be replaced by Judith Swales, current chair of Super Retail Group.
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Fenton → replace → Group
Senior legal counsel Jeffrey Tan and chief of operations Desmond Dobbyn have also resigned.
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Tan → resign → operations
A spokesperson for QVM told The Age Elliott and Fenton were not departing as a result of the KordaMentha review and “both [exits] relate to the end of set terms”.
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exits → tell → terms
The spokesperson said Tan and Dobbyn had both decided to move on.
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Tan → say → ?
Friends of the Queen Victoria Market members said the closure of Peel Street and Franklin Street entry and exit points to the open-air carpark has forced traffic to enter via Queen Street – creating a bottleneck and lengthy traffic queues.
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closure → say → bottleneck
We traders know what it means,” said Rosa Ansaldo, who has operated Rospaul Fresh Fruit for more than three decades.
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who → know → decades
“We need people to want to come here every week.
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people → need → ?
But if you can’t find a park, or you have to pay a ridiculous amount for a park, that’s a loaf of bread and a litre of milk,” she said.
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she → find → milk
Traders have also been told they must vacate southern storage sheds (used to store perishable food items as well as non-perishables) in Franklin Street by January 15, according to emails seen by The Age.
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they → tell → Age
Stallholders were encouraged to use underground storage at the new traders shed, but there are leaks affecting the site.
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Stallholders → encourage → site
Speaking anonymously to detail sensitive information, a market source said traders might be left without suitable storage at the height of summer.
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traders → speak → summer
Queen Victoria Market used to cover the cost of utilities, waste collection and rubbish disposal, but in 2024 passed those costs on to traders.
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Market → use → traders
The waste charges were suspended for a year after trader anger, but came into force in early 2025.
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charges → suspend → 2025
That is despite stallholders coming up with sustainability ideas to reduce waste charges, including supplying green waste to farmers and recycling pallets.
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stallholders → come → pallets
“We need an honest working management.
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We → need → management
We pay our water, our electricity, our waste, our security.
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We → pay → water
Every year it goes up 4 per cent.
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it → go → ?
They want us to pay again, [for] waste that we don’t even have,” Ansaldo said.
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Ansaldo → want → that
I have never seen it as bad as what it is now.”
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it → see → ?
She decried the market’s renewal project, which has so far restored 10 out of 12 historic sheds since 2020.
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which → decry → 2020
“The whole renewal has destroyed us.
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renewal → destroy → us
They didn’t consult with us and do what is best for us,” she said.
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she → consult → us
Plastic skylights have been extended in the sheds as part of the renewal, making it hotter and increasing glare for workers, Ansaldo said.
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Ansaldo → extend → workers
“It kills the fruit,” she said.
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she → kill → fruit
As well as shed upgrades, the Food Hall has been refurbished and a mixed-use hospitality, housing and community services centre in the Munro development – which offers 500 car parks – is complete.
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which → refurbish → parks
Francesco Fontana of fresh produce store Fontana Brothers said everything was “going sideways” with the renewal project.
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everything → say → project
“There are some merits [to the renewal], but now it’s become an excuse.
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it → be → renewal
It’s the redevelopment phase,” he said.
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he → ’ → ?
Fontana does not mince his words when asked if he has confidence in the market’s management company.
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he → mince → company
“They’re incompetent, doing nothing, and taking it easy.
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They → ’re → it
They’re on a wage, regardless of how business goes [for traders],” he said.
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he → ’re → traders
Fontana was instrumental in organising the historic strike at the market in February 2025 and remains furious about the dispute with management over additional charges for waste management services on top of rent increases.
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Fontana → organise → increases
A spokesperson for Victoria Market welcomed KordaMentha’s interim findings and said the group would keep working on the relationships with traders through the review and beyond.
“When traders tell the review the relationship has become harder, we take that seriously,” the spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → welcome → that
Fontana says another strike isn’t off the table.
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strike → say → table
Meanwhile, traders and nearby residents say there has been no progress on developing the carpark into a green space or construction of three high-rise buildings nearby.
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traders → say → buildings
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
