Independent supermarkets caught out by trading laws they’re fighting to keep

INDEPENDENT supermarkets spearheading a campaign against deregulating shop trading hours have been caught breaching regulations allowing them to open outside normal times.

Goodwood IGA shop assistant Jess Gatford. Picture: Tait Schmaal

• The case for deregulating shop trading hours
• The case against
• Supermarket gets special exemption

INDEPENDENT supermarkets spearheading a campaign against deregulating shop trading hours have been caught breaching regulations allowing them to open outside normal times.

Audit results show four Drakes and three Romeo’s supermarkets are among those found to be breaching regulations about floor space.

Suburban supermarkets can open on public holidays, after 9pm on weeknights or before 11am on Sundays if their floorspace is 400sq m or less.

Treasurer Rob Lucas said it was ironic that supermarkets opposing the State Government’s shop trading deregulation were opening outside of the current laws and taking advantage of the freedom proposed changes would allow.

But the Independent Retailers group, which represents the two chains, says only a handful of their stores will have to change hours temporarily in order to comply. But it warns 50-60 supermarkets will be forced to close if deregulation passes State Parliament.

It is understood between 10 and 15 supermarkets were found to be breaching the shop trading laws in a SafeWork SA audit, which Mr Lucas commissioned after the Liberals’ March 17 state election victory.

In one case, at Goodwood IGA, the floorspace was found to be 43sq m more than allowed because a counter had been shifted near a wall.

Mr Lucas said the Government would not seek to penalise the supermarkets in breach of the complicated laws because it preferred to remove restrictions on trading hours.

However, if the legislation did not pass Parliament after a sitting starting next week, then the existing laws would have to be enforced.

“You can’t have a situation where some people are following the law and some people, even though they oppose reforms, are happily trading,” Mr Lucas said. “The fact is that a number of independent retailers are responding to the massive demands from their customers to trade outside of the allowable trading hours.”

This demonstrated that customers wanted to shop then, businesses wanted to open and shop assistants wanted to work, he said.

South Australian Independent Retailers chief executive officer Colin Shearing questioned the political agenda behind the first shop trading floor size audit in 25 years, when none had been commissioned under both previous Labor and Liberal governments.

He argued the audit had “absolutely nothing to do with deregulation”, saying the affected shops would both comply with regulations and seek to work co-operatively with authorities to return to usual hours.

“I’m questioning the (audit’s) timing but I’m also saying that out of all the stores it’s only a handful,” he said.

“For them to think that a handful of stores is going to make a difference to deregulation, they need to rethink this.

“It won’t be a handful of stores, it will be 50 or 60 stores that will close with deregulation. They’re totally supporting interstate corporates and massive shopping centres at the expense of small retailers.”

Mr Lucas is delivering a “repeal and replace” ultimatum, offering Parliament a choice between the full Government plan or no change at all.

The Government plan maintains restrictions to stop large shops from opening on Christmas Day, Good Friday and Anzac Day morning, but otherwise allows for widespread deregulation.