READER'S STORY: I have busked my way across Canada, parts of the United States and parts of the eastern coast of Australia.

For the first time in my busking career I was turned away from a local market in Maryborough.

I called ahead of time to see what kind of permission was needed,

The application fee was $52 and I also needed liability insurance which is $300 a year.

This was impossible with my budget constraints.

Even if I had the money for this fee, I was told that it would take weeks for my application to be processed.

It is my girlfriend's birthday today and what is on the menu for her birthday feast?

A can of baked beans.

We came to Australia to travel and work on farms, not to busk.

But when we found out the three months of work we were promised at a mandarin farm turned into only five weeks of work, I had to open my old banjo case again.

We have applied for hundreds of jobs over the past three weeks, but have had no luck so far.

I spent my last $6 this morning so that I could send you this story online from the Maryborough library.

The travelling busker is a time-honoured tradition that spans cultures around the world, and in our case, it is our last defence against going hungry.

The liability laws that are in place on the Fraser Coast with regards to busking take away from not only our ability to make a living, but your community's right to experience new and different types of music and performance.

The Fraser Coast area is filled with beautiful landscapes and generous people.

It is a shame that the rules and regulations provided by the council (in this case) are not representative of that.

Response from Fraser Coast Opportunities

Fraser Coast Opportunities event manager Kim Griffith said the organisation was pleased to allow buskers to perform at Maryborough Heritage Markets.

"In fact, there were three entertainers performing in today's market," she said.

"There is however a market policy that must be followed which requires all entertainers, including buskers, to book a site prior to every market day.

"They must also hold a current policy of public liability insurance."

Buskers are not charged to perform at the markets but might have to pay a small fee of about $8 if they require electricity.

"The first and only approach made to the market co-ordinators by this busker was this morning, well after the market had started," Ms Griffith said.

"He was advised he would need public liability insurance to perform and that there were already a number of entertainers in the market who had pre-booked their spaces.

"A market coordinator did suggest that as an alternative, he could busk outside of the market space "