Shop Trading Hours (Extension of Hours) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

The Hon. J.K. SZAKACS (Cheltenham—Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services) (15:51): On behalf of the Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am pleased to introduce the Shop Trading Hours (Extension of Hours) Amendment Bill 2022, which implements the government's election commitment on shop trading reform.

Before I turn to the specific provisions in this bill, I want to outline two main principles which have informed the government's approach on these reforms. The first is that this government is strongly committed to working with both business and worker representatives to forge consensus and deliver positive practical change for the people of South Australia. The second is that this government recognises that shop trading legislation affects a wide variety of industry stakeholders across the entire SA economy. These stakeholders should be at the core of decision-making processes.

We are never going to agree on all aspects of all matters, but this government will always listen and take into account a range of opinions from all stakeholders. This legislation is the product of significant consultation with key industry groups, which has occurred both prior to the election and since the election. I particularly wish to thank Business SA, Foodland, IGA, Metcash, the Motor Trade Association, the SA Retail Association and the SDA for their considered and constructive feedback. As a direct consequence of this consultation, our government is in a position to implement not only our election commitments but a number of other reforms which are widely supported by stakeholders.

This bill delivers on our headline election promises by amending section 13 of the act, to extend Sunday trading so that shops can open from 9am instead of 11am and to permanently allow Boxing Day trading in the city and our suburbs. This bill amends section 13 of the act to codify longstanding ministerial exemptions, which allow extended midnight trading on Black Friday and on weekdays in the direct lead-up to Christmas.

This bill also amends section 13 of the act to permit shops to trade on additional public holidays, such as when an ordinary public holiday falls on a Sunday, and an additional holiday then takes place on the Monday. The bill inserts a new section 13B, which extends provisions that already apply to work on Sundays and confirms employees rostered on public holidays must have voluntarily agreed to work on those days.

These are sensible reforms that strike a fair balance between the interests of large and small businesses, workers and consumers. These changes also continue to support our thriving independent supermarket sector to compete against the bigger market players. Importantly, this bill also seeks to eliminate the outrageous practice of the former Treasurer, the Hon. Rob Lucas, in issuing blanket trading exemptions across the metropolitan area that were fundamentally inconsistent with the careful balance struck by this parliament.

The policy of this government is clear: the rules set by parliament in the Shop Trading Hours Act should apply to all stakeholders equally and should only be departed from when there is industry consensus. Ministerial exemptions do not exist to simply carve out sections of the legislation that the government of the day finds inconvenient. Ministerial exemptions exist for these exceptional circumstances where they are needed to support special events of particular significance to the people of South Australia and only where there is consensus among industry stakeholders.

This bill reforms the ministerial exemption power under section 5 of the act to require the minister to consult with both business and worker representatives before issuing an exemption and to be satisfied that the exemption is supported by a majority of interested stakeholders, including representatives of both business and workers.

The bill also confirms the minister must not grant exemptions that are so extensive as to undermine the controls of shop trading hours in the act and confers standing on industry stakeholders in any judicial review proceedings challenging a ministerial exemption. This is consistent with the government's approach in this bill to regularise those frequently issued ministerial exemptions, such as extended trading in the lead-up to Christmas.

By permanently incorporating these arrangements into the act, we are minimising the need to rely on these ministerial exemptions in the future. With this bill, the Malinauskas government is getting on with the job of working together with both business and workers to deliver these fair and sensible reforms.

Finally, I note that the government has advised peak business organisations that it intends to proclaim this legislation to come into effect on 1 November 2022, assuming it passes the house this week. That means that Sunday 6 November will be the first day with extended 9am Sunday trading hours. The government's advice to the business community has allowed both businesses and workers to make rostering arrangements to ensure staff are available for those additional hours.

I would urge all members to ensure that the trading arrangements the business community has put in place are not disrupted by any delay in the passage of this important legislation. I commend this bill to the house and seek leave to have the explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

2—Commencement

These clauses are formal.

Part 2—Amendment of Shop Trading Hours Act 1977

3—Amendment of section 4—Interpretation

This clause removes obsolete references to the Glenelg Tourist Precinct and makes consequential changes to definitions.

4—Amendment of section 5—Exemptions

This clause changes the maximum period for which class or general exemptions can operate from 30 days to 14 days and alters the process for declaring or granting an exemption.

5—Amendment of section 7—Inspectors

This clause allows the Minister to appoint inspectors rather than the Governor.

6—Amendment of section 13—Hours during which shops may be open

This clause amends section 13 to allow general Sunday trading in the Greater Adelaide Shopping District from 9 am (instead of 11am), to allow new trading days, or extended trading hours, in that shopping district on certain days as set out in proposed new section 13(2).

7—Amendment of section 13A—Restrictions relating to Sunday trading

This is consequential to clause 8.

8—Insertion of section 13B

This clause inserts a new section 13B providing that the shopkeeper of a shop is only entitled to open the shop on a Sunday or a public holiday in accordance with section 13 if each employee who works in the shop during that Sunday or public holiday has voluntarily accepted an offer by the shopkeeper to work on that day.

9—Repeal of Schedule 1A

This clause removes the obsolete Schedule relating to the Glenelg Tourist Precinct.

Schedule 1—Transitional provision

1—Inspectors appointment to continue

This is consequential to clause 5 and ensures that the inspectors appointed by the Governor under the current provisions will continue to be appointed.

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (15:58): I rise today on behalf of the opposition as lead speaker to speak to the Shop Trading Hours (Extension of Hours) Amendment Bill 2022. The opposition warmly and fully supports the proposal to extend shop trading hours for all shops in the Greater Adelaide region on Sunday mornings, opening shops at 9am rather than the current 11am. We also support the proposal to secure in legislation Black Friday trading and changes around additional public holidays; however, the opposition believes that the proposed changes can and should go further.

We need to have shop trading arrangements in this state that are based around the principles of providing certainty for business, simplification and removing confusion for consumers and that strike the right balance for all businesses to support sustainability. As a starting point, in this parliament we should all be committed to removing or limiting the idiosyncrasies of a bill drafted in 1977—a literal lifetime ago—that do not support the needs of today's economy or the consumer.

As we understand it, the Labor Party and the Labor government have made it clear that they will not be providing exemptions to allow trading on public holidays as was done under the previous government. This is an example of the Premier giving with the one hand and then taking with the other, a saying I do not use often for obvious reasons. We should be moving the state forward, not living in the past and making things harder for business and consumers. While we support the steps forward contained in this bill, we have significant concerns regarding the changes the government are proposing around the exemption process.

Under the previous government, as I said, exemptions were provided to allow shops to trade on some select public holidays should they wish. The Premier is not interested in allowing South Australians to continue to enjoy shopping on these days and has clearly said that he will not be providing exemptions. It appears that the Labor Party is also going to make it harder for any future minister of any persuasion to provide exemptions and allow trade.

Some SDA employees can work on public holidays, earning public holiday penalty rates, but other SDA employees cannot. The real question, given the changes proposed in this bill, is: should the SDA or the unions be making decisions on when shops open, in particular around public holidays? I am certain that they want the power, I am certain that the Labor Party with the SDA as its effective majority shareholder and donor—how many of the parliamentary party are SDA members over there? I know we have the Premier and there is at least one, two, three, four, five; I cannot count them on my one hand. I think there are 10—want the power outside of parliament to control trade on public holidays.

Compelling a minister to make a decision is a change proposed in this act. By our reading, and that of some in the media, the changes proposed effectively give the Premier's old union a right of veto against and over any future trading hours exemptions. A government who from opposition made such a virtue of the absolute desire for elected officials to make decisions—and some may argue that the management of a worldwide pandemic required more input from experts in the field than deciding when our shops should be allowed to be open—again saying one thing from opposition and doing another from government, has already become a hallmark of this arrogant 'look at me' government.

We will be asking some serious questions during the committee stage of debate to get to the bottom of how the changes will operate in practice. As it stands, we have serious concerns around these aspects of the bill. At this point of my contribution, it does need to be said that we are now closer than we have ever been to fixing this mess. In reality, we are talking about trade on roughly four public holidays and tidying up the ridiculous issue—and what we originally thought and assumed was a mistake—on Boxing Day.

On this side of the chamber, this is a new and refreshed Liberal team with a new, pragmatic approach. We understand that what the people of South Australia ultimately want is a set of shop trading arrangements that meet the principles I discussed earlier that provide certainty for business, that are simple and remove confusion for customers and that strike the right balance for everyone, including businesses, to support sustainability.

We have openly and publicly walked away from the old party room's position. We are not proposing that shops are open 24/7, we are not proposing that they are open at 2am and we have regard for the position of some in the industry who saw the proposal as an unfair playing field. What we have done is consult with the community, a consultation process that will remain open, as we have not had any contact from the Labor Party indicating that there is any interest whatsoever in making sensible changes to the bill before the house.

We will continue to engage with the people of South Australia on this issue moving forward. Can I also make the point that the Labor Party and this government so far have talked a lot about consultation, but where was the consultation with the public and the consumer on this issue? Where was the YourSAy website? Nowhere to be seen. Evidence by the crowds of people showing up at the doors of shopping centres just a few weeks ago on Labor Day—they were not consulted. I must have missed the million-dollar advertising campaign of, 'We are keeping the shops closed', letting people know about a government decision that would have impacts almost straightaway rather than something planned to be complete in 10 years' time—maybe.

Those on the other side have said that they took it to the election. Does the Labor Party really believe that the people of South Australia voted for them based on this issue? By that logic, the Labor Party should not have stood in the way of the position the then Marshall opposition took to the 2018 election. However, as I said, these things are well and truly in the past. This government already has a credibility issue.

What we should be focused on is how we can improve the bill and how we can fix the illogical parts of the act moving forward. We have discussed the issue with interested parties and have developed three sensible amendments that will, in most circumstances, deliver shop trading hours more aligned with community expectations that provide certainty but still maintain or strike a balance.

The first is to extend trade to 6pm on weekends—Saturdays and Sundays. This is a proposal that will give workers in today's economy—families who have school sport on weekends, families and people who have caring responsibilities, or really for whatever reason—the ability to more easily access retail. We all know that nine to five no longer reflects today's society. Most importantly, this is heavily supported by the consultation process we have undertaken.

The proposal is supported by Business SA, by Harbour Town and by a range of other businesses we have engaged with. As advocates supportive of the government's changes of an additional two hours' trade on Sunday mornings have said that 'we employ more people and they're going to get more hours, so it's a win-win for everyone', and that it 'would create more employment opportunities within the sector'. Why should this logic apply only to the two hours between nine and 11am on Sunday? Surely that logic also applies to the proposal of an additional two hours, one on a Saturday afternoon and one on a Sunday afternoon.

The second amendment is to allow trade on select public holidays. The response to our consultation was overwhelming: people want to shop on select public holidays. It was also evidenced by the number of people who took up that opportunity over the past few years and the number of people who rocked up to closed doors last month.

The feedback we received was that people saw ANZAC Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day as days that should be sacred but that shops should be allowed to trade on other public holidays. We know that workers cannot be forced to work on public holidays—that principle is contained and legislated within this very bill—but for some retail workers working on public holidays with the penalty rates that come with that is very sought after.

These changes should be about limiting the confusion about what is open and when. On these days, traders should not have to worry about their floor size or what they sell to know whether they can open their doors or not. This is a simple, pragmatic and clear proposal that will remove much of the confusion and provide certainty for business. It would bring South Australia into the 21^st century.

Finally, we will move an amendment that will allow all shops to open on Boxing Day. Should the bill pass in its current format, there will be more confusion around Boxing Day than there was previously. Surely this reform should be about making things simpler and easier for people to understand. It is simply illogical, to say the least.

Under this ridiculous Labor logic, they say I should be able to get up and go to the shops on Boxing Day. I can go and buy a flat screen TV, I can go and buy a new set of pyjamas, but in the very same shopping centre I cannot go and buy some Weet-Bix and milk. That is simply a step too far and just plain illogical.

No matter where you stand on this debate, you can at the very least appreciate the arguments against full deregulation and the independent sector's views. But let's be clear: what the Liberal Party is proposing through these amendments is not full deregulation; it is a sensible and pragmatic approach. We are seeking policy outcomes that provide certainty for business, that make things simpler and remove confusion for consumers, and that strike a balance between business and consumers, and that support sustainability. This is an approach that is supported by South Australians and that will bring us into the 21^st century.

I am certain that those opposite, the Labor Party, will run the very same arguments that they ran against full deregulation five years ago and when it came to the parliament during the last parliament against these very amendments that we put forward today. But this is a substantial shift and those arguments just do not stack up in this context. We support parts of this bill, and ultimately we will be supporting it, because we know the people of South Australia want this issue addressed and they want progress on this issue. This bill in some ways is a step forward.

We are not unrealistic. We understand the realities of the numbers of this chamber. However, we are a pragmatic opposition who is happy when the opportunity arises to give this government opportunities and suggestions where we can improve legislation and improve things for the public of South Australia. We will be moving these amendments to give the Labor Party an opportunity to consider the amendments on their merit so that we can finally have in this state shop trading laws that those opposite so frequently said are for the future and not stuck in the stone age.

The Hon. A. MICHAELS (Enfield—Minister for Small and Family Business, Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister for Arts) (16:12): I rise to support the Shop Trading Hours (Extension of Hours) Amendment Bill and put my views forward that these are in fact sensible reforms that strike a fair balance between the interests of large corporations, workers, consumers, and importantly small business owners as well. This bill delivers on our election commitment to extend Sunday trading so that shops can open from 9am instead of 11am and permanently allow Boxing Day trading through the city and suburbs.

I am confident that there will be strong consumer demand for these additional shopping hours on Sundays, as locals head to their local shopping centres for various reasons early on a Sunday morning. We also know that Boxing Day trading will be hugely popular, but it also provides midnight trading on Black Friday and three weekdays chosen by the minister in the lead-up to Christmas for those of us who leave our Christmas shopping way too late. It also allows shops to open on additional public holidays when a normal holiday falls on a Sunday and there is an additional holiday that occurs on the next Monday.

The bill also ensures that workers have voluntarily agreed to work on Sundays and public holidays. Importantly, the minister's power to grant exemptions from shop trading rules will be constrained to prevent situations such as under the former Liberal government of granting blanket shop trading exemptions on public holidays.

These reforms will deliver certainty for our community, as we heard, in the lead-up to the busy Christmas period. They continue to support our thriving independent supermarket sector and enable them to compete against the bigger market players. Independently owned supermarkets in South Australia have around 30 per cent of the market share compared to single digits in other states, and that is not an accident.

Not only are these important small businesses able to continue in their own right but they also support a greater proportion of other local small businesses such as food producers and manufacturers. We see that with our local Foodlands and IGAs supporting local South Australian food producers much more significantly than the big players. There are thousands of small businesses that are too small to supply to these large national and international chains, but they can get their foot in the door of the smaller ones, and therefore we need to do everything we can to ensure that part of the sector is sustainable.

We know that when we reduce the number of independent retailers jobs are displaced, product choice vanishes, prices increase and profits are shifted interstate and offshore. The Malinauskas Labor government has a strong commitment to the South Australian small business community. That is, of course, why we established a dedicated small and family business portfolio and why I have now opened an office for small and family business within state government for businesses to deal with.

As you may be aware, Mr Acting Speaker, I was raised in a family business as a child in my dad's cabinet-making business in our backyard, sandpapering doors on weekends and school holidays with my brothers. I then went on to become a small business owner myself in the last eight years, so I am no stranger to the joys, challenges and the sheer hard work that go into running a small business.

We know that small and family businesses are the engine room of our economy. They make up 98 per cent of all businesses in South Australia and contribute $40 billion to our economy. They play a critical role in South Australia's economy, improving productivity, creating jobs and unlocking economic growth, but it is not just about the economics. I also want to acknowledge the contribution that small and family business owners make to our communities. Whilst harder to measure, this impact can be felt in their generosity, community spirit and willingness to have a go, and that is very prominent and obvious with our small retailers and our small food producers, etc., who are very supportive of their local communities.

These reforms ensure our small and family businesses are provided with the best operating environment to succeed, in stark contrast to the impacts of total deregulation that those opposite sought to implement when they were in government and even the proposed changes enunciated just now by the shadow treasurer. Total deregulation of shop trading hours will have a devastating impact on small and family businesses across South Australia.

In many cases, as a condition of their lease small and family businesses are compelled by corporate shopping centre owners to open at times they know will be unprofitable. If it is not a condition of their lease, I know from people giving me this feedback personally that there is immense pressure for small businesses in shopping centres to open when they know they are actually going to be losing money.

Business owners cannot afford to employ staff to cover shifts on public holidays and Sundays, meaning they have to work even harder, many more hours, in their own businesses on the days they cannot afford to have staff. This obviously affects not only them as business owners but their families, all the while losing money in the process. This is simply not sustainable, and we would see independent retailers close at a record rate in this state. The argument for further deregulation put forward by those opposite is one that demonstrates how out of touch they are with the small business community in this state.

On the back of establishing the Office for Small and Family Business and announcing the development of a small business strategy for South Australia, I have launched an extensive statewide engagement process with small businesses. We plan on having 20 round tables across metropolitan Adelaide, and I think there have been 10 or 11 across the regions as well. A number of industry sectors have been consulted, including hospitality, retail and tourism. Around the regions, we have had round tables around Port Pirie, Port Augusta, Whyalla, Eyre Peninsula, Fleurieu Peninsula, Barossa, Kangaroo Island, Riverland, Murraylands and the Adelaide Hills.

In addition, we had 17 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and industry representatives who shared their experiences of what it is like to be a small business operating in South Australia. We received a significant amount of feedback and we are continuing to do that through the round tables, interviews and the online survey. The key themes are around the workforce, specifically skills attraction and retention of talent. Some of that feeds into housing—in particular, a lack of housing amongst the regions—a lack of infrastructure in regional towns and access to child care. Cash flow management is a key feature of some of the feedback.

We know that COVID had an impact on small businesses, particularly in certain sectors, but they are now being impacted by rising inflation, rising interest rates and rising costs of imports, etc. Supply chain issues have been raised also, including the availability of materials, causing delays in certain sectors, and access to the internet and NBN reliability in certain areas, again particularly in the regions.

I mention these round tables in particular because many businesses were participants in not only the round tables but also the small business survey; in fact, about 1,200 people responded to the online survey. We have consistently heard how small businesses felt abandoned by the previous government, how stakeholders were shut out and how, in comparison, they are appreciative that we are having these discussions and seeking this feedback.

Consultation with the business community through this engagement process and countless other discussions has reaffirmed the support of many of our policies, including reforms around our procurement system in South Australia, the re-establishment of Brand SA, our See it LIVE program to support live music and hospitality venues, and our Women in Business program, and of course significant consultation has occurred in relation to our shop trading hours.

We know that Business SA, South Australia's peak Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is supportive of these reforms. Business SA's CEO, Andrew Kay, noted the bill maintains the balance between allowing shops to open longer and supporting South Australian businesses. This government has a strong commitment to working with businesses, industry associations and worker representatives to develop a consensus and deliver positive, practical change for our community.

For example, the suggestion from those opposite, from the shadow treasurer just now, to open until 6pm on weekends flies in the face of providing support for small businesses. On a Sunday, when a lot of these small businesses are unable to afford workers to work and owners are there themselves, they are often there for an hour or so before opening—so from probably 8 o'clock on a Sunday—and if shops do not close until 6pm, they are likely to be there until probably 7pm to clean up and close down their shops. The practical reality of those suggestions would have a significant impact on small businesses over the weekends.

The balance that we strike with this amendment bill I think is the right one for small and family businesses. They do so much for South Australia, for our communities, and we want to be able to provide the best support we can to help them do what they do best. I commend this bill to the house.

The Hon. D.G. PISONI (Unley) (16:22): The bizarre thing about the government's very limited changes—and in fact they are winding back the clock with public holiday trading—is that their claims just simply do not stack up to fact. The Minister for Small and Family Business I think used the term, 'Businesses will close at a record rate if there's further deregulation of shop trading in South Australia.' Outside of metropolitan Adelaide there is no regulation of shop trading.

With the regulations that enabled public holiday trading during the previous government, we saw fewer businesses closing in South Australia than in the previous four years. More businesses moved into administration and receivership in that period than they did during the four years when we had public holiday trading throughout South Australia. This myth that the union movement, the shoppies union and this government are using to further constrict shop trading opportunities in South Australia does not stack up against the facts.

The facts are that there are many independent supermarkets in cities in the Eastern States that thrive. One that comes to mind is the Kingston Supabarn in Canberra, which competes against Coles and Woolworths in other shopping areas. It is a destination shop. It is where people go because of the stock that is available, the produce that is available, as well as the quality, the pricing and the service that is available. That is how they win and grow their business.

It is a family-owned business operating in a very large supermarket. Under South Australian laws, that small family business would not be allowed to be open on public holidays or beyond 5pm on a Saturday or a Sunday.

The changes the government is implementing mean that if you are locked into a five, eight or 10-year lease in a shopping centre whose only anchor tenants are supermarkets you are going to be disadvantaged against those shopping centres that have bulky goods, such as places like Harvey Norman, Fantastic Furniture or other destination-type shopping, because those big businesses will be allowed to trade on public holidays. They will bring people to the supermarket.

If you run a cafe somewhere that has a Coles, a Woolworths or a Foodland that is over 400 square metres you will not be able to open. People will not go to that shopping centre on a public holiday and go to their clothing store, their snack bar, cafe, shoe store or their mobile phone store because they want to do their home shopping at the same time.

They will go to shopping centres in the city. They will go to the city, which is the only place where supermarkets will be allowed to open to purchase their shopping. All those businesses will miss out on that opportunity, yet they will pay the same rate of land tax, they will pay the same amount of money per square metre for their rent, they will pay the same insurance and they will pay the same penalty rates, but they will be deliberately disadvantaged by this legislation.

It is a nonsense that there are leases at shopping centres for small businesses to sign that say they must be open when the shopping centre is open. Has anyone been to the Unley Shopping Centre on a Sunday? I go there often, and you are lucky to see a small store open. They have all chosen not to open. There is no penalty for them not to open, whether it be the newsagent, whether it be one of the many clothing stores there or whether it be the cafe.

Bakers Delight is open. They have chosen to open, and the butcher is open, but they are right opposite the supermarket. While people go to Woolworths or Coles at the front of the centre they are calling into those smaller businesses. There is just no logic. It is a policy developed through lack of life experience is how I describe this legislation.

The government has been pushed kicking and screaming for an extra two hours on a Sunday. We are told that this is great for the economy, but then we heard from the minister previously that an extra two hours on the weekend from five until six on a Saturday and from five until six on a Sunday will be devastating for the economy. This does not make sense.

It is a bit like the language these Labor MPs use to their audience, the union movement. They think that it applies out in the real world as well, but it does not because the real world is much more experienced than the Labor members of parliament who have cut their teeth in the union movement and learnt to manipulate people on their way up the greasy pole of the union movement.

It was also quite extraordinary to hear Josh Peak on the radio this morning complaining about the profits that Westfield makes in discussions about what is happening with boom gates going in and security guards, for example. What Mr Peak does not realise is that every single shoppies union member is in a superannuation scheme that relies on profits from companies like Westfield and the banks and others that the left tend to criticise for being profitable for their superannuation being able to support them in their retirement.

If those companies that their superannuation is invested in are not making profits, then they will not have a very comfortable retirement. That is the system we live in. It is a free enterprise system, and thank God it is a free enterprise system because we saw that the socialist experiment of the Soviet Union only lasted 70 years before it collapsed. We know that sustainable jobs come out of a private sector economy, one that is not constrained by government. This legislation is a constraint on business.

While we are talking about a company like Westfield, Frank Lowy arrived in Australia in the late 1940s with a suitcase and nothing else. He started with his own shop in a shopping centre. He then bought that small shopping centre and his business grew from there. He was a small business person. This is the Australian story: migrants and native-born Australians starting on the bottom rung of the ladder and developing the companies that go on to employ people, that go on to contribute to the wealth of superannuation funds for every working person in Australia—including people in this chamber.

Despite some of the comments we might get about the parliamentary pension, we are superannuant reliant, just like every other employee in the country. Thank God the companies that the superannuation fund I am a member of make profits because, if they did not make profits, my superannuation would be diminishing every year, despite the contribution that was made not increasing. So I am not one of those people who will go out there taking cheap shots, pointing at a large company and saying, 'Look at all the money they are making,' because I know that the money they are making goes to shareholders and that superannuation funds are major shareholders in those companies.

Self-funded retirees, those who manage their own superannuation, rely on those funds. In 2019, we saw federal Labor lose the unlosable election because they attacked people who set up their retirement funds on franking dividends. One person I have known for a very long time, as the member for Unley, in Unley, was a member of the Labor Party and worked on every campaign. We have a very friendly and cordial relationship. He voted Liberal for the very first time in 2019 because his entire superannuation was based around franking profits or franking taxes—or the lack of franking taxes—based on his share portfolio. That is how the private sector works.

What we are seeing with this bill is a constraint on the private sector. Those future Frank Lowys are being constrained as to when they can trade—and future expansions of shopping centres are being constrained by when they can trade—or they are postponing or deciding not to expand their shopping centres. They employ architects, engineers and tradespeople and more shop workers when they expand, as they would do if they were unrestricted with their sales, or at least if they had more options to trade, particularly on public holidays.

We have seen people expecting to be able to shop on a public holiday. We saw that with the October Labor Day weekend, when people turned up to suburban shopping centres expecting to be able to shop and saw that they, of course, were unable to. You only have to go to places like Harbour Town, where those shops that can block off a change room to bring themselves into the appropriate size to enable them to open do so.

Places like Ralph Lauren, for example, instead of having four change rooms open, as they would normally, would have only two so they could trade on that day. This is how ridiculous these laws are, and they would only be designed by a government that does not understand the private sector, that does not understand small business and that does not understand how markets work or how people who choose to run their own businesses want to have the freedom to run them.

There is no doubt that, sure, this legislation will give South Australians an opportunity to shop for an extra two hours in metropolitan Adelaide, but people in the regions have been doing that and more for as long as I can remember. If it is so important to have these constraints on trading hours for shops over a certain size in metropolitan Adelaide, why is this legislation not an opportunity for the Labor government to extend it statewide? Why do they not do that? Either it is right or it is not. It is not right based on geographic considerations. It is either right or it is not right. This is what makes the constraints within this bill so nonsensical and very political.

We know what the driver is. We know that the shoppies union like the regulated area in which they work. It means that union officials can get their weekends off, not work too late or get up too early to service their members. This is all about the shoppies union. It is not about big business or small business. It is not about those who want to have the ability to have a full day out with their families, for sport or at the beach, and then call in to the supermarket on the way home maybe at five past five to grab something for dinner. It is not about those people: it is about those who have a vested interest in the retail area.

Something else you will see if you turn up at about 10 to five at Unley Shopping Centre, particularly at Woolworths, are rows and rows of people with their groceries who have rushed to get down to the shopping centre to buy something for the evening meal or for the kids' lunches in the morning and who have not had the opportunity to get there earlier. It will take them up until 5.30 or so to get through the check-outs—but them's the rules. That is why the amendment to extend these shop trading hours to 6pm on Saturday and Sunday makes good sense because it works well with the lifestyle that South Australians have and enjoy and a lifestyle of more flexible working.

One thing that COVID has taught us is that there are so many more things you can do outside business hours that are related to your business. There are things you can do at home that you do not need to necessarily do at work anymore. We are seeing a lot more flexibility. The workplace is a lot more fluid. It may be work, it may be a branch office, it may be a head office, it may be a regional office where you might spend some of your time, so it is important that our community and our society reflect that flexibility and those changes in lifestyle we have experienced in South Australia.

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (16:38): I rise in support of the Shop Trading Hours (Extension of Hours) Amendment Bill 2022. With the successful passage of this bill through the parliament, South Australians can soon wake up on Sunday mornings to a brave new world, one where you can shop from 9am on a Sunday.

If you have run out of milk and flour for Sunday morning pancakes—no problem. Want to get the school shop out of the way a couple of hours earlier? Done. Visiting our amazing capital city and want to squeeze in some shopping in Rundle Mall and Rundle Street before the drive or the plane flight home? You can go for it. This bill represents the most significant reform to shop trading hours in a decade, and it is an example of how the Malinauskas Labor government is a government that is delivering on its election commitments and getting things done.

The main changes in this bill are to extend shop trading hours so that shops can open at 9am instead of 11am; allow Boxing Day trading across the CBD and suburbs, other than for large supermarkets, with small supermarkets still able to trade; allow midnight trading on Black Friday and on three weekdays chosen by the minister in the lead-up to Christmas; and ensure that shops can only open on Sundays and public holidays if workers have voluntarily agreed to work on those days.

We are also maintaining current rules that allow only small supermarkets to open on public holidays and during the new Boxing Day trading. This is important, as it shows our support for South Australia's thriving independently owned supermarkets, like the Hutt Street IGA and the FoodWorks on O'Connell Street in my electorate of Adelaide. Independently owned supermarkets have around a 30 per cent market share in SA, compared with just single digits in other states. The Malinauskas Labor government recognises this, we celebrate this and we support those hardworking small and family business owners.

It is important to note that the Malinauskas Labor government has consulted widely on this bill, including with Business SA, the National Retail Association, SA Independent Retailers, Food SA, Bunnings, Kmart, Rundle Mall, Drakes Supermarkets, the Australian Retailers Association, SA Unions, the United Workers Union and my union that I am incredibly proud to be a part of, the SDA.

The Malinauskas Labor government is a government that delivers on its election promises. This bill delivers on our election commitment to reform shop trading hours by providing more shopping hours for customers while also protecting workers' weekends and backing local small businesses. It strikes a fair balance between the interests of large and small businesses, workers and consumers. With those comments, I commend this bill to the house.

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (16:41): I rise, too, to offer my support for the shop trading hours amendment bill presently before the house. The bill strikes a fair balance between the interests of large and small businesses, workers and consumers. To make sure we got it absolutely right, and to ensure that we deliver positive and practical reform, the Malinauskas Labor government consulted with a wide range of industry stakeholders.

We asked Business SA; SA Independent Retailers; Drakes Supermarkets; Rundle Mall; Shopping Centre Council of Australia; Australian Retailers Association; National Retail Association; Motor Trade Association SA; Food SA; Bunnings; Kmart; SA Unions; Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association; and the United Workers Union, not to mention all the local retailers my Labor colleagues and I spoke to and consulted with one on one. We listen before we deliver.

The main changes in this bill are to extend Sunday trading so shops can open from nine instead of 11am. We will allow Boxing Day trading across the CBD and suburbs, excluding the large supermarkets but of course allowing small independents to trade. We will allow midnight trading on Black Friday and on three weekdays chosen by the minister in the lead-up to Christmas.

We will allow shops to open on additional public holidays, such as when a normal holiday falls on a Sunday, and an additional holiday then occurs on the following Monday. We will ensure that shops can only open on Sundays and public holidays if workers have voluntarily agreed to work on those days. We will tighten up the minister's power to grant exemptions from shop trading rules to prevent situations such as the former Marshall Liberal government granting blanket shop trading exemptions on public holidays.

Small independents operating in my electorate of Davenport see the benefit in, from time to time, being the only ones open. My neighbours and I know that, even on a public holiday, we will be able to pop into the O'Halloran Hill IGA for our essentials and while there we will probably spend some money at the other small locals, like Its n Bits next door that tells me that they rely on these special holidays to boost their takings.

By maintaining current rules that allow only small supermarkets to open on public holidays and during the new Boxing Day trading, this bill supports South Australia's thriving independently owned supermarkets in competing against the bigger players, like Coles and Woolworths. Those opposite have said that will be too confusing for the people of South Australia.

Independently owned supermarkets have around a 30 per cent market share in SA and that is huge compared to the single digits in other states. Unlike those opposite, we think that this is worth protecting. Our government's policy is that public holidays are an important time for workers to have a day of rest, to spend with their friends and with their families. The government does not intend to grant blanket shop trading exemptions on public holidays.

In comparison, the Liberals think that public holidays should be just another day for retail workers to spend on the job. Under the new exemptions process, the minister must consult with peak bodies representing both business and workers and can only grant an exemption if there is majority support amongst industry stakeholders, including the support from both worker and business representatives.

This ensures exemptions are only used where there is clear industry consensus. The government will continue to consider shop trading exemptions to support special one-off events that are of value to the South Australian community. This just makes sense and responds to what industry stakeholders have been calling for. In contrast, the Marshall Liberal government spent four years pursuing a failed ideological crusade for the total deregulation of shop trading in South Australia, but 24/7 shop trading was repeatedly rejected by unions, the business community, the parliament and the voting public.

The former Treasurer tried to fully deregulate shop trading hours twice in the last term of parliament and both attempts were rejected by every non-Liberal member of the upper house. Then opposition leader Peter Malinauskas offered a compromise but this was rejected by the Liberal Party at the time. They refused to pass widely supported deregulation of Sunday trading hours to 9am, instead taking an all-or-nothing approach.

Unlike those opposite, the Labor government is committed to progressing widely supported reforms which provide more shopping hours for customers while also protecting workers' weekends and supporting local small businesses. Importantly, this bill fulfils the government's election commitments to reform shop trading hours. This position was widely supported prior to the election by the unions and business groups alike and, importantly, by the people of South Australia at the ballot box. I commend this bill to the house.

Ms SAVVAS (Newland) (16:47): It is a great pleasure today to speak in support of the Shop Trading Hours (Extension of Hours) Amendment Bill. The reason that I am proud to be speaking to it today is that I am always proud to be speaking in support of regular people, working people, particularly those in the north-eastern suburbs who were continually left behind by the previous government.

I remember all too well the response of the community to the continued failed efforts of the previous government to fully deregulate shop trading hours in South Australia. They of course unsurprisingly refused to listen to retail workers. Although that is disappointing, it is not surprising because that is what Liberals do. More surprising, however, was their continued pursuit of the campaign against business, against farmers, against their core supporters, particularly those independent grocers who here in South Australia under Labor governments have had the opportunity to thrive on public holidays, particularly out in the burbs where they actually have an opportunity to compete against major supermarkets.

In the same way, our small businesses, family-owned cafes and butchers have the opportunities under our government and under this bill to compete on public holidays against large chains if, of course, they want to. The Marshall Liberal government spent four years pursuing their crusade for total deregulation of shop trading hours. They did so twice in the last term of parliament and failed to succeed. We came with an alternative. Our government has had a consistent shop trading policy since 2018 and we are introducing this bill to get the balance right, a fair balance between large businesses, small businesses, workers and consumers.

We have consulted with a large range of industry stakeholders on this bill for positive reform, speaking not just with workers but with Business SA, SA independent retailers, Bunnings, Kmart, the retail association, unions and of course working people themselves. As opposed to full deregulation, this bill will:

extend Sunday trading;

allow Boxing Day trading across the CBD and suburbs—other than for large supermarkets—continually allowing our small IGAs, Romeos and the like, to benefit;

allow midnight trading on Black Friday and on three weekdays in the lead-up to Christmas; and

most importantly for me, and for so many others, allow that shops opening on those days are voluntary workdays.

There are lots of benefits to this bill. Maintaining current rules means that only small supermarkets can open on public holidays and Boxing Day, which will continue to support those independently owned supermarkets that thrive in South Australia.

Here in SA our unique trading hours model is one of the reasons we have one of the most competitive supermarket sectors in Australia. It gives small family businesses, like our independent grocers, the opportunity to compete against big supermarket chains. Here in SA our independently owned supermarkets have around 30 per cent of market share, compared to single digits in other states.

The reason for this bill and for our compromise is simple. First, we can accept that it is time to see some shopping on days like Boxing Day and that there has been demand for sales and things on those days in other states. Secondly, we can also accept that everyone does deserve a day off work.

I personally spent many years working at TTP in hospitality and have also worked in fast food—and at one stage, believe it or not, as a union representative. That is not something I am ashamed of. The opposition has spent a significant portion of their day today throwing stones at government members who have spent their time representing real people. They have spent a significant portion of their day throwing stones at government members for maintaining a relationship with an organisation that represents real people, one of the largest unions in the country and the largest youth-based membership organisation in the country as well.

I am not ashamed, and will never be ashamed, to have represented working people, and I will continue to do so for the rest of my life. I am also not ashamed to have been a working person myself. It is actually because of my time as a union representative that I know why it is important to get the balance right. It was there, working for the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association, that I was truly able to understand the toll that weekend work takes on essential workers, the people putting food on our tables.

It was when visiting night fill workers at Woolies down at Woodcroft and staff at McDonald's at midnight on Hindley Street that I saw with my own eyes how hard regular people are working to serve our communities at all hours of the night and weekend. I did hear the member for Hartley's very cheap shot saying that the SDA only supported regulated trading hours so that union officials could have nights and weekends off. On our side of the house we actually know that all people have the right to a fair roster and time with their families, but we also know that working people often do not get that.

That is why, just like I did, our union officials work night after night, weekend after weekend, meeting members at the time they are actually at work. Meanwhile, the previous Liberal government—earning triple, quadruple, five times the salary of retail workers at times–—took a five-month break from parliament right before the election. Retail workers do not have that luxury, and neither do their union officials. I think that says it all.

I went to visit Tea Tree Plaza on a weekend right before a long weekend, after we had won the election. I will not name the coffee shop I went into, but I will share the conversation I had. The owner and manager of the shop asked me what I did for work, and said he had recognised my face. We had quite a lengthy chat, and he asked me to do one thing: pass my thanks on to the boss. He said he had worked every public holiday, as had his wife and kids, of the past four years across his several shops, as they could not afford to pay penalties as a small business, but equally they could not afford to close up shop when the rest of the centre was open. He wanted to thank the Premier and our team for his first day off in years.

The story was very much the same when I went up to buy an item of clothing at a retail shop upstairs. That staff member, who does know me particularly well (I spend a lot of time stimulating the local jacket economy), said exactly the same thing: she thanked us for the first day in years with her kids. Today, I am very proud to be supporting this bill, to be speaking on behalf of regular people in the north-eastern suburbs, those who do deserve a day off.

I would like to say a special thank you to the retail workers who have stood up for their rights in this debate, to the supermarkets, particularly independent grocers, who have stood up for theirs, and—surprise, surprise—to the retail union for continually standing up for their members, over 250,000 members across this country. I commend the bill to the house.