Melbourne Market board quits after chair appointment
The full Melbourne Market Authority board has resigned after the Victorian government selected former Melbourne Football Club chief executive Paul Guerra as…
Melbourne’s wholesale produce market is facing a governance shake-up as its future becomes an issue in Victoria’s election campaign. The full Melbourne Market Authority board has resigned after the state government appointed former Melbourne Football Club chief executive Paul Guerra as chair.
Acting chair Angie Bradbury, board members Margaret Burdeu and Emma Germano will leave effective October 29, according to ABC News. Acting chief executive and executive director Keith Louie has also given one month’s notice of resignation.
The departures leave the government-owned authority responsible for overseeing the Epping market facing changes at both board and executive level. The market handles wholesale fruit, vegetables and flowers.
Bradbury questions the appointment
Bradbury told the ABC she had applied for the three-year chair role after serving on the board since 2022. She had been acting chair since May this year, but resigned after the government selected Guerra.
“I was not prepared to step aside and go back to the board table when I have been an effective leader,” Bradbury told the ABC.
She said her objection was not directed at Guerra personally. “This is not about Paul Guerra, I don't understand how the decision has been made, the value it offers and what issue it is [the government] think they are solving,” she said.
A letter from two board members, seen by the ABC before the appointment announcement, asked Victorian Agriculture Minister Michaela Settle to reconsider. The members said they would resign unless Bradbury was chosen instead.
“We are unwilling to lend our professional standing, governance experience and statutory accountability to an appointment that we consider presents foreseeable and unacceptable risks to the Authority,” the letter said.
Settle had been contacted for comment, the ABC reported. Guerra had also been contacted for comment.
Market’s ownership becomes election issue
The appointment comes amid competing positions on the market’s ownership. Earlier this week, the Victorian Coalition pledged to sell the Melbourne Market if it won next month’s state election. Labor said it would keep the market in government hands if it won.
That disagreement puts the authority’s leadership in a politically sensitive position: the chair will oversee a government-owned operation whose future could change depending on the election outcome. The market’s users and the fresh produce industry rely on the authority to oversee its operations, while the board resignations add uncertainty to that governance role.
Guerra was removed as Melbourne Football Club chief executive in April, seven months into his term, and has begun Federal Court proceedings against the club for breach of contract. His first case management hearing is scheduled for October 30, the same day he is due to begin the three-year term as market authority chair.
He previously led the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria, and served as executive chair of the Queen Victoria Market. In its appointment statement, the Victorian government said he brought “significant commercial, governance and stakeholder engagement experience to the role”.
Guerra said in the statement: “The Melbourne Market is a significant part of Victoria’s fresh produce industry, and I am committed to supporting the market and its users in my role as chair of the Melbourne Market Authority.”
A Victorian government spokesperson declined to comment on Guerra’s salary but said remuneration for the role ranged from $21,941 to $61,750.
The authority has also seen recent executive turnover. Rob Clayton, appointed chief executive in March, left after three months. He had replaced Mark Maskiell, who stepped down after almost 14 years. Matt Elliott is due to take up the chief executive role in January, while Louie remains acting chief executive during his notice period.
Guerra is due to start as chair on October 30.
Source: abc.net.au
