Perth businesses and consumers will be forced to close their doors on Monday’s Queen’s Birthday public holiday while online retailers and only small and special retail stores get to remain open.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCI) recently wrote to the WA Department of Commerce seeking extended trading hours for general retail shops in the Perth metropolitan area during public holidays and the Christmas/New Year period.
The McGowan Government is yet to announce their decision on the Christmas/New Year period, but businesses and consumers shouldn’t hold their breath, after they knocked back CCI’s application for extended retail trading for the upcoming Queen’s Birthday public holiday on Monday 25 September.
CCI Director of Advocacy Cath Langmead said trading hours on the Queen’s Birthday public holiday have been extended for the past two years from 11.00am to 5.00pm to 8.00am to 9.00pm.
“Extended trading hours are good for the public, who have more time to shop, good for business, who can benefit from the increased activity, and good for workers, who will have the opportunity to earn more money. Almost 140,000 West Australians are underemployed and want more work – this simply makes that worse,” Ms Langmead said.
According to 2014 Australian Bureau of Statistic figures, in the two years since the introduction of Sunday trading in the Perth metropolitan area, 20,700 new retail jobs were created which represented a 15.8 per cent increase and was more than three times the growth rate in retail jobs across Australia.
“After so much progress, the business community is shocked that the Government would take this backwards step,” Ms Langmead said.
“WA continues to have the worst trading hours in the country. At a time when the McGowan Government is focussed on job creation and trying to make WA a global tourism hotspot, this decision only puts us further behind.
“Online retailers don’t have to open at 11am and close at 5pm, and nor should our bricks and mortar retailers.
“The 1995 Hilmer Review recommended the full deregulation of trading hours across the country. WA failed at three attempts to make those changes and lost $23 million in incentive payments. We can’t afford to let this continue.
“CCI is calling on the McGowan Government to immediately reverse their decision to help support WA businesses ability to compete, and consumers access to stores when they want to, not when the government dictates.
“We are also calling on the Government to guarantee that retail trading hours will be extended, at least as much as last year, during this year’s Christmas/New Year period to give business and their employees certainty. Business owners should decide when they open for business, not the government.”