A Concerning Incident at the Bayswater Growers' Market
Future Bayswater aims to
- provide a fantastic experience for our community in our town centre,
- support local businesses and
- bring life to the area each weekend with our markets.
Unfortunately, on Saturday, we had to deal with an unpleasant situation with a protester handing out materials and displaying an offensive sign at the BAYSWATER GROWERS’ MARKETS. While we respect that people have differing views within our community, the markets are not an appropriate venue for this sort of action.
Following this, our team of market staff and volunteers have been subjected to derogatory and defamatory comments by some people on other social media pages. Our preference is always to ignore the criticism and not engage with those who clearly don’t really want a civil discussion – you can’t please everyone, right? But the attacks have become nastier, more personal, more aggressive, and more confronting.
We are not prepared to allow this to escalate any further.
This post will outline the facts and reinforces our values.
The Facts
A man (who we will not name) was at the Growers’ Market handing out materials to market attendees. He had not sought any approval to do so. No one, not even our market stall holders, are permitted to wander the markets handing out flyers and approaching our market goers. He was asked to stop, which he did. We were happy with this outcome, and would have left it there. He then left the park and returned with a protest sign that included an expletive (see pic). This was being displayed in the middle of the market near the children’s playground. As everyone is aware, we seek to create a family friendly environment and asked for the sign to be removed.
Accordingly, our Market Manager (who has experience in running successful markets right across Perth) rightly responded to concerns from market goers and asked him to take his sign away. We have a duty of care to ensure a safe and non-threatening environment for our attendees, market team and volunteers. His behaviour towards her was totally unacceptable. To be clear, under no circumstances will we tolerate intimidating and threatening behaviour towards our team members, or any of our volunteers.
A man (who we will not name) was at the Growers’ Market handing out materials to market attendees. He had not sought any approval to do so. No one, not even our market stall holders, are permitted to wander the markets handing out flyers and approaching our market goers. He was asked to stop, which he did. We were happy with this outcome, and would have left it there. He then left the park and returned with a protest sign that included an expletive (see pic). This was being displayed in the middle of the market near the children’s playground. As everyone is aware, we seek to create a family friendly environment and asked for the sign to be removed.
Accordingly, our Market Manager (who has experience in running successful markets right across Perth) rightly responded to concerns from market goers and asked him to take his sign away. We have a duty of care to ensure a safe and non-threatening environment for our attendees, market team and volunteers. His behaviour towards her was totally unacceptable. To be clear, under no circumstances will we tolerate intimidating and threatening behaviour towards our team members, or any of our volunteers.
The man was asked to stop handing out his materials and to stop displaying his sign, nothing more. Despite accusations to the contrary that have been posted on social media – this is not about restricting his freedom of speech, this is about proper conduct at a community event. He was not ‘evicted’ from the park as he claims.
We will not let individuals or any group come in and use the event to hassle attendees. If it’s good for one it’s good for all, and we don’t want the markets to be inundated with politicians, pamphleteers, advertisers and paid charity collectors pestering market-goers.
We provide the opportunity for community groups to have a stall at the markets to promote their group – no application has been received from this man or his supporters.
Our volunteers put thousands of hours into community activities. All unpaid and all in their own time. Sadly, this sort of behaviour is nothing new for our volunteers. Our group and a number of our individual team members have been subjected to constant attacks and inappropriate behaviour from this man and his group for a few years, simply because they disagree with our aim to revitalise the town centre.
Future Bayswater supports positive and informed debate but we will no longer tolerate any form of abuse, intimidating behaviour, attacks on our volunteer’s businesses, personal character attacks, spreading of mistruths, defamatory comments, nor any vandalism of private property and public facilities.
Despite this unfortunate event, we will not let this diminish what is proving to be a brilliant weekly event in our town centre. We will keep doing the best for our community, local businesses and the town centre. We will keep getting up early to set it up, and working late to organise this and other activities for the benefit of our community. We would greatly appreciate your continued support in doing that.
The Future Bayswater Growers' markets' VALUES
Which we hope you all share..
- Welcoming: we collaboratively create a friendly, inviting and positive environment
- Community: we create a vibrant place for community to positively connect
- Respect: we treat others courteously and appropriately
Thanks for all your understanding and support.