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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-02-28 Daily Xml
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TRADING HOURS

Mrs REDMOND (Heysen—Leader of the Opposition) (14:39): My question is again to the Premier. How does the Premier justify his statement that the government would move from 'announce and defend' to 'debate and decide', given that his government failed to consult key stakeholders—including the Motor Trade Association, the Australian Hotels Association, the aged care sector and Restaurant and Catering South Australia—on the proposed new public holidays before announcing them?

The SPEAKER: There is a lot of supposition in that question; I could almost disallow it. Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier, Minister for State Development) (14:40): Thank you, Madam Speaker, and I thank the honourable member for getting with the lingo. It is good that she has adopted the announce and defend, debate and decide sort of analysis of the world. Given that it is my language, perhaps I will explain what it means, because it might help. The truth is that that language is not a recipe for making no decisions. What it is about is ensuring that there is a mature public debate about public policy issues before you actually make decisions. If anyone here is telling me that there has not been a mature public debate about the question of shop trading hours—which has gone on, and on, and on—with the respective—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. The question was not about trading hours. The question was about public holidays, and the Premier is not answering the question.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, deputy leader. The Premier will continue his answer. I do not uphold that.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: I am happy to make the connection for those opposite but, if they are going to use my language back to me, they are going to have to accept that I might have to explain it to them. The nature of this public debate has been, on the one hand, the Liberal Party 'let it rip' total deregulation. On the other hand, we have had a very restricted view of shop trading hours—

Mr Williams: So have I.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Well, it is your policy.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: They have shifted their position now. It has always been their policy, out there—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —with Business SA—

Mr WILLIAMS: Point of order, Madam Speaker. This is why we have a standing order not allowing debate when answering questions. The minister is supposedly saying what the Liberal Party policy is, and it is clearly wrong. He does not know what the Liberal Party policy is.

The SPEAKER: Thank you, deputy leader. You can have an opportunity to give a personal explanation after question time if you feel you have been wronged. Premier.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: For those opposite, if they want to use the word 'debate' and ask a question about debate, it is incumbent on me to describe the debate. The debate has existed on two sides: the debate between those who are with the deregulations—let it rip—and, on the other hand, Business SA. Let us use Business SA. Do you accept that Business SA has had a policy of total deregulation? Incontrovertible. So, Business SA has had a policy of total deregulation of shop trading hours. On the other hand, we have the interests of people, working people, who want to keep those public holidays for their families. It has always been a matter that we have defended, but what has happened here is that those two sides that have been the lead protagonists in those debates have decided to compromise: on the one hand, Business SA, and, on the other hand, representatives of workers in those industries coming together.

The debate is a broader one than shop trading hours. It is also a debate around recognising that working people in this state are entitled to have some family time on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. When they have been deprived of that family time—

The Hon. I.F. Evans interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Member for Davenport, you are warned.

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: —to spend time with family and friends, preparing for New Year's Eve or, indeed, Christmas Day, the next day—they should get higher rates of pay. I would have thought that that is a fairly self-evident proposition. It is a social norm that we, on this side of the house, support. We are seeking to bring those things together in a piece of legislation which will, for all time, settle the shop trading hours issue. It does another very important thing—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: It will. It will lock this away forever, and those opposite know, and that is why they are resisting it. What we have here in this state is something that would be the envy of other states: an independent small retail sector—30 per cent of our retailers are independent. If you are in the food industry and you want to get something on a shelf here in South Australia, you have got an even chance of getting it on there, because we have an independent retail sector that is capable of supporting South Australian small food producers. Many of them get their chance and their start in the small retail sector. It is as low as 10 per cent in some of the Eastern States—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL: Can I say this: Woolworths and Coles don't like this arrangement because they want a deregulated environment where they have the whole of the market, let's be absolutely clear, and let's be clear about what that would do to the whole range of suppliers who are trying to sell their produce into the retail sector. This is a sensible arrangement, and I urge all those who believe in a strong independent retail sector, who believe in fair remuneration for working people when the rest of us are enjoying ourselves and who want a vibrant city, to stand with us.

Ms Chapman: Where's the bill? If it's so important, where's the bill?

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Bragg, you are warned for the third and last time. The next time, you will leave.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

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