It
is interesting how a newspaper article can be taken to mean different things to
different people and that certainly happened with today’s Age piece on QVM
Renewal. It referred to the Lord Mayoral race in Melbourne and the significance
of the city’s QVM renewal project.
The
article quoted two political wannabes (Phil Cleary and Gary Morgan) who cast
doubt on the future of the QVM Renewal. This led one Trader to suggest the
renewal would be abandoned. Another trader suggested that the article was a
clear indication that the renewal should, and would, go ahead. He pointed out
that Cleary had failed to gain support in previous anti-renewal campaigns, and
that Gary Morgan was a serial, and unsuccessful, candidate over many years. The article also included comments from high profile candidates Sally Capp and Ken Ong, and two current
Trader Representatives, all who gave the renewal their support.
Deli
Trader, Peter Langtry, was quoted in the article “Oh yeah, the redevelopment
will go ahead. Every trader here hopes that it does,” Mr Langtry said. “It
would be a disaster if it didn’t.” Peter may have overstated how many traders
support the renewal, although this writer certainly believes that a clear
majority of traders are looking for significant change.
Trader
Representative, Marshall Waters, was quoted in relation to Cleary’s possible
candidacy “Let’s hope he doesn’t. I would be so disappointed if it all
stopped.” He went on to say “We’re
ignoring the fact that the retail world has changed. This renewal is a breath
of fresh air, and at the end of it all they will all say, ‘Thank goodness this
happened’.”
Renewal
is hard for traders. It will be disruptive, but “disruptive” is the term used
to describe many aspects of this revolution in retail. As one trader said today
“Treating QVM Renewal like a political circus is an absolute insult to hard
working traders. We need change. Let’s just get on with it!”
By
Greg Smith
