Queensland farmers' market faces closure in insurance dispute with council
A local farmers' market in south-east Queensland may be forced out of a council park after a dispute over public liability insurance, despite stallholders arguing that their existing farm cover should be enough.
The Three Creeks Farm Stall market in south-east Queensland is facing possible closure after a prolonged dispute with the local council over the type of insurance required to keep trading. The market operates from a council park where small growers sell directly to residents without wholesalers or middlemen.
Organisers say the market is built around local food supply. Farmers bring in fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs from nearby properties, including produce that would not survive the longer logistics chain of major retail outlets. With fuel costs high and supply chains under pressure, stallholders describe the market as a practical source of local food security.
The dispute escalated when Gympie Regional Council asked the group to obtain specific public liability insurance for the market itself. According to co-founder Sarah Niemand, stallholders were told they should form an incorporated association and take out a collective policy that would cost about 1,300 to 1,500 Australian dollars a year.
The growers argue they are already covered. Niemand said her broker had advised that existing broad-form farm insurance protects farmers while trading at the market. In their view, the extra layer of formal structure and paperwork would add cost and administration without delivering a meaningful benefit for small-scale producers.
Council leaders see the issue differently. Gympie mayor Glen Hartwig said the problem is not the market activity itself but the legal exposure for council if something goes wrong on the site. He added that public liability cover is a standard requirement for markets in the region, and agritourism operators quoted by ABC said separate public and product liability policies are commonly used for both on-farm and off-farm market activity.