Growth in suburban shop visits boosts Rob Lucas’ desire for trading hour deregulation
Treasurer Rob Lucas has armed himself with new numbers to justify deregulated shop trading hours. But the State Opposition have some numbers of their own.
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Treasurer Rob Lucas has reignited debate over deregulated retail trading hours armed with new shopping centre figures that he says support the case for Boxing Day trading.
Mr Lucas told the Sunday Mail that trade across suburban Adelaide last Boxing Day was a roaring success, as “more than 150,000 South Australians and holidaying tourists flocked to the ’burbs to bag a post-Christmas bargain”. The figure was a 20,000-strong increase from Boxing Day 2018.
But opponents say official data reveals there has been a drop-off in December retail sales growth in the two years since the Liberals brought in Boxing Day trading.
After failing to get deregulated shop-trading hours through State Parliament in its first two years, the Marshall Government is now preparing for another tilt.
In 2018 and last year, Mr Lucas granted a special ministerial exemption, under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1977, to give suburban retailers the opportunity to open on the Boxing Day public holiday.
New Shopping Centre Council of Australia data – using a sample of its member centres, which includes SA’s largest centre, Westfield Marion – shows 150,000 people visited suburban retailers last Boxing Day.
Mr Lucas said the data showed one centre experienced a 12.4 per cent jump.
“It’s crazy in this day and age, when we have retailers under more competition than ever before due to the rise in online shopping, that retailers have to come cap in hand to me as the minister to seek permission to open extended hours,” he said.
“Our view is simple – if traders want to trade, consumers want to shop and there are employees willing and able to work, why should our silly shop trading laws stop them?”
Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed there had been a drop-off in December retail sales growth – decreasing from about four per cent in 2016 and 2017 to one per cent in the past two years.
“These numbers kill off the Liberals’ argument that opening the majors on Boxing Day means people will spend more,” he said.
“While the big shopping centres may like extended trading, it is bad news for South Australian small businesses, which is bad news for jobs.”