{"id":538785,"date":"2026-03-13T23:47:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T23:47:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/538785\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T23:47:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T23:47:14","slug":"popular-farmers-market-facing-eviction-over-public-liability-stand-off-with-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/538785\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular farmers’ market facing eviction over public liability stand-off with council"},"content":{"rendered":"

A stand-off over public liability insurance could end in eviction for a popular farmers’ market operating for free in a council park in south-east Queensland.<\/p>\n

Every Saturday morning at Three Creeks Farm Stall, small-scale farmers cut out middlemen to sell to locals at Eileen Hose Park, south-west of Gympie.<\/p>\n

\"Market<\/p>\n

Three Creeks Farm Stall has been operating from Eileen Hose Park for three years. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)<\/p>\n

They grow fresh seasonal fruit and vegetables, including varieties supermarkets do not stock because they would perish on long trips to and from central markets.<\/p>\n

As Australia grapples with skyrocketing fuel prices and supply chain issues, stallholders say the market provides local food security.<\/p>\n

As local as it gets<\/p>\n

Herb grower and market co-founder Sarah Niemand said all the seasonal fruit and vegetables they sold travelled less than 10 kilometres to Pie Creek.<\/p>\n

“We don’t allow any form of trader, so anyone standing here is selling what they [or their families] produced,” Ms Niemand said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Sarah Niemand says she is confident her farm insurance covers her at the markets. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)<\/p>\n

“You can’t buy anything in and sell it for a profit. There’s no flea market, there’s no bric-a-brac, it’s just food.”\"A<\/p>\n

Gympie State High School farmhand Trevor Tramacchi sells students’ produce for them at the market. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)<\/p>\n

Eviction looms<\/p>\n

But after three years, the market is facing eviction because stallholders have not met Gympie Regional Council’s request for specific farmers’ market public liability insurance.<\/p>\n

Ms Niemand said the council had asked them to form an incorporated association to obtain the cover, which would collectively cost them between $1,300 and $1,500 a year.<\/p>\n

She said her insurance broker assured her that broad-form farm insurance protected farmers at the market.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Phoenix Farm owner John Brady is an experienced local grower. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)<\/p>\n

“We are insured, just not in the way that council would like to see it done,” Ms Niemand said.<\/p>\n

“I don’t feel like it benefits anyone to form an incorporated association, to have to maintain that structure both financially and in terms of time.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The stallholders are gathering signatures to petition council. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)<\/p>\n

Petition launched<\/p>\n

Loyal customer Louise Nichols has signed the farmers’ petition asking the Gympie council to change local laws to allow the activity and support primary producers.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got food security here,” Ms Nichols said.<\/p>\n

“With all the cost of transport to get goods into his area, why aren’t we supporting our own area first?”\"A<\/p>\n

Louise Nichols does not want to lose the farmers’ market. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)<\/p>\n

Mayor says ratepayers at risk<\/p>\n

Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig said the issue was not about local laws but having appropriate public liability insurance, which would cost about “$3 a week per stallholder”.<\/p>\n

“We can’t turn a blind eye to it forever because if something happens at that site, the lawyers won’t go and sue the farmers,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Glen Hartwig says he has to protect ratepayers from potential claims. (ABC News)<\/p>\n

“They will come straight to ratepayers, straight to the council and say: ‘Well, you allowed them to be there. You knew they didn’t have public liability insurance. We are going to chase you.’<\/p>\n

“The ratepayers will be the ones that pay.”\"Cars<\/p>\n

Council has been providing the park to stallholders for free. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)<\/p>\n

The mayor said he grew up farming small crops and that the council had been very supportive.<\/p>\n

It was not charging farmers to use the council-owned park and had offered to help develop a traffic management plan.<\/p>\n

Councillor Hartwig said public liability insurance was a standard requirement for markets across the region.<\/p>\n

\"woman<\/p>\n

Agritourism Queensland president Kay Tommerup says she has taken out separate public liability insurance. (Supplied: Jack Harlem)<\/p>\n

Age of litigation<\/p>\n

Agritourism Queensland president and dairy farmer Kay Tommerup said her family had farm insurance, but also paid for an additional policy.<\/p>\n

“It’s completely separate as a public and product liability cover and specifically mentions that we host on-farm markets and that we attend off-farm markets,” Ms Tommerup said.<\/p>\n

“We’re covered for both situations.”<\/p>\n

Ms Tommerup offered to discuss her “lived experience” with the farmers.<\/p>\n

She said most of the markets she attended asked for a copy of a certificate of currency to prove they were protected against public liability claims.<\/p>\n

“I have to say, I’m not paying a fortune for that policy,” she said.<\/p>\n

Unwanted red tape<\/p>\n

But the stallholders said an extra layer of insurance was red tape they did not require.<\/p>\n

“Without a corporation, we can still be self-sufficient,” market co-founder Julie-Ann Payne said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Julie-Ann Payne wants council to leave stallholders alone. (ABC Rural: Jennifer Nichols)<\/p>\n

“We don’t need someone telling us how to live.”<\/p>\n

The Insurance Council of Australia has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A stand-off over public liability insurance could end in eviction for a popular farmers’ market operating for free…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538786,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6634,64,63,99,267053,34446,267052,7445,152042,267051,267050],"class_list":["post-538785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-agriculture","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-farmers-market","tag-farmers-markets","tag-food-miles","tag-food-security","tag-local-food","tag-public-liability-insurance","tag-three-creeks-farm-stall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}