Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-11-06 Daily Xml

Contents

Shop Trading Hours

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:49): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Treasurer regarding shop trading hours.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: The Christmas period is an important time for families to spend together. Retail traders and workers should be able to spend time with their families, but the Boxing Day trading exemption that the Treasurer plans on introducing will mean many families will miss out on spending quality time together. My questions are:

1. How is the Treasurer ensuring that workers will not be forced to work on Boxing Day if they do not want to?

2. Will the Treasurer guarantee that workers will not be forced to work on Boxing Day unless they want to?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:49): The exemption that will be gazetted this Thursday, on which I have already made a decision, will make it quite clear that workers will not be forced to work on Boxing Day.

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: Is that a guarantee?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: That is the exemption I am giving. The advice I received, as I issued the exemption, was that conditions can be placed on the exemption, and one of the conditions of the exemption is that workers cannot be forced to work on Boxing Day. That will be a condition of the exemption.