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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-03-31 Daily Xml
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Shop Trading Hours

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (15:11): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question to the Treasurer on the topic of shop trading hours.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: Mr President, as you know we are quickly approaching the Easter long weekend and at the public holidays that mark these occasions we know that again there will be a confected debate over shop trading hours. Indeed, the last public holiday long weekend we heard from the Treasurer in The Advertiser several times over several days that within weeks the parliament would again be debating shop trading hour deregulation. In the meantime, at the Press Club debate last week the leader of the Labor Party has offered 9 to 11am Sunday trading compromise, and I have heard much of the Treasurer in recent days of being open to compromise.

So my question to the Treasurer is: how can we take him seriously when here we are waiting for that piece of legislation not just weeks but now some months after he said it was imminent; and has he got on the phone to the Labor leader to talk about a compromise of 9 to 11am on Sunday morning for shop deregulation to occur, to give certainty to the sector who are sick of the saga of this, which is more a political pantomime than any real process of compromise or progress?

The PRESIDENT: I call the Treasurer.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:12): Mr President, I thought you might have made a comment about that. It is quite a strategic decision in relation to the timing of the legislation. I am awaiting for the political demise of the Hon. Mr Parnell because I think with fresh blood coming into the chamber, new fresh thinking from the Greens—

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: Modern thinking.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: —modern thinking—I'm hopeful that that may well tilt the balance as we move the old out and the new in. It may well be—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: It may well be forlorn, but one knows the way the Hon. Mr Parnell would vote on a particular piece of legislation like that. I don't know yet what the new member of the Greens may well vote on the issue.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: We will never know, that's right. So, yes, I can assure the Hon. Ms Franks that she will have the opportunity together with whoever replaces the Hon. Mr Parnell and others to address the issue again well prior to the 2022 state election.

In relation to the mealy-mouthed offer from the leader of the Labor Party, which has been dangling out there for the last 18 months, he has been saying, 'Look, the shoppies union have told me that I'm allowed to offer you 9 to 11am on Sunday morning as a token endeavour to try to get this hot political issue of the agenda because I'm fearful that, when it comes to the 2022 election, I'm going to have to stand up and defend the very unpopular decision that this—if the Labor Party was to be elected—would be the very last Boxing Day that people would be able to enjoy Boxing Day sales.'

If he is elected as a leader of the Labor government the shoppies union—my good friend Josh Peak—and the others will be saying to the Leader of the Opposition, 'You're not allowed to do anything in relation to shop trading hours, but we will let you if you want to compromise on 9 to 11am on Sunday mornings. But don't worry about Boxing Day sales, don't worry about public holiday trading, don't worry about those stores at Harbour Town, for example, which are 210 square metres, they are not allowed to trade on a public holiday unless they are down to 190 square metres.

Forget about the supermarkets—this is about retail trading outlets like Cotton On, Adidas or the variety of other outlets down there that want to trade but because they are 210 square metres they are not allowed to trade. Forget about trying to trade after 5 o'clock on a Saturday or Sunday, when people want to go and shop after 5 o'clock because they might have visitors coming for dinner on the Saturday night and they can't go out after 5 o'clock on a Saturday or Sunday night.

If you want to the talk about compromise, talk about a genuine compromise, have a look at what might be done, not 'the shoppies union will let me offer you an extra two hours on a Sunday morning to trade', but rather the comprehensive reform that this state needs and this state supports.

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