Insurance issues lead to closure of Cardwell community garden

Insurance issues lead to closure of Cardwell community garden | Insurance Business Australia

Insurance News

Insurance issues lead to closure of Cardwell community garden

Commercial lawyer emphasises underinsurance in the market

Insurance News

By
Roxanne Libatique

A community garden in Cardwell, Queensland, will be unavailable to the public after three years of growth due to insurance issues.

The garden was developed a few years ago by residents on a vacant seafront block by the local Catholic Church. However, a sign was recently posted at the front of the community garden stating that public access to the land is no longer allowed from September 2023 due to “insurance requirements.” The garden will also be removed.

“While the notice says that everything will be removed, I’m of the understanding that the church has realised what good it is in the community,” said Robyn Smith, a local retailer and one of the volunteers who transformed the site into a garden, as reported by ABC. “If it just gets fenced off, that’s okay, everyone can still enjoy it from the outside.”

Insurance issues

Ross Grantham, professor of commercial law at TC Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland, commented that public liability insurance-related issues have been preventing the development of community sporting clubs and grassroots start-ups across Australia.

“The point of public liability insurance is to protect the entity, in this case the community garden, from claims by other people against it for personal injury or damage to property occurring through using the garden,” Grantham said, as reported by ABC.

“We live in a culture these days where if something bad happens then somebody has to be at fault. What’s changed is that it’s becoming more difficult to get public liability insurance. And when you do get it, it’s much more expensive.”

Grantham further emphasised public liability underinsurance, with insurance companies withdrawing from the public liability insurance market.

“The advice that these community groups are getting about the dangers of trading without public liability insurance will act as a deterrent to a lot of these activities. And you will see clubs fold,” he said. “You will see things not happening because of the risk.”