Before any member
of the management team starts nodding their head, or any trader accuses me of
trader-bashing, let me explain.
“Entrepreneurship
is the last refuge of the trouble-making individual” is a quote by Natalie
Clifford Barney who was an American playwright, poet, and novelist, and an
influential feminist. Traders can understand what her quote is trying to say.
Entrepreneurs
love the freedom of carving their own future, making their own decisions, and
often avoiding or countering the impositions of society, community frameworks,
and worst of all corporate or state structures. That trouble-making or
rebelliousness is part of the creativity that drives customer engagement and
progress in a small business environment.
The problem
is that a renewal program does impede that creativity as traders are forced to
do a very uncomfortable thing - they are expected to wait while business is
disrupted and things are put in order. Traders will always look for ways to
minimise that disruption which was the main driver behind the alternative proposal recently put up by the anti-renewal group. Unfortunately it meant relegating parkland to the top of a building and didn't adequately address OH&S concerns for Fruit & Vegetable traders.
But the latest proposal from the QVM renewal team
could be good news. The renewal
team is currently considering a proposal to reduce the footprint of the
underground construction. They are looking at continued operation of the A,B,C,
and D shed areas adjacent to Queen St. while they dig deeper at the Peel St.
end. This would ensure that the retail “feel” along Queen St. and around the
temporary pavilion will be retained during the period of construction. More will be revealed at a Trader information session on Thursday 24th August. (details here)
Continued
business operation could be the winner in this move.
By Greg
Smith (Trouble-maker)