South Australian referendum push to give voters say on shop trading hours

Voters would be given the last word on deregulating shop trading hours in a referendum proposed by the State Government – the first in 30 years.

South Australians would be given a vote on extended shopping hours under a historic referendum push about to be put to parliament by the State Government.

Voters would decide the issue at next March’s election.

In a dramatic escalation of the Liberals’ longstanding bid to reform retail hours, the government this week will couple a fresh move to deregulate retail trade with the referendum plan.

The Liberal government has been unable to fulfil its 2018 election promise to give shops the power to trade when they want, because the move has been torpedoed by Labor and the upper house crossbench.

Treasurer Rob Lucas argued majority support at the proposed referendum, which would be just the tenth in SA’s history, would deliver a binding result and force change – regardless of the election winner.

Voters would be asked: “Do you approve the Retail Trading Bill, 2021?”, which is the government’s legislation enabling shops to trade when they want.

“Now is the time to let the people decide, once and for all, whether they want the freedom to shop, trade and work when and where they choose, without our confusing, outdated laws stopping them,” Mr Lucas said.

“We know that sensible shop trading hours reform has overwhelming public support.”

If backed by parliament, the referendum would be SA’s first in 30 years. The most recent was in 1991, which approved the redistribution of electoral boundaries after each election.

Mr Lucas said he intended to introduce the Bill to the upper house on Thursday, testing crossbenchers’ resolve to oppose reform in the face of a vote by the people.

Labor and the upper house crossbenchers have consistently opposed Mr Lucas’s series of special ministerial exemptions enabling retailers to trade on public holidays.

Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas, a former shop assistants’ union state chief, has argued deregulation means less competition and fewer jobs.

But Mr Lucas accused Labor and “their shoppies’ union mates” of frustrating the Liberals’ 2018 election mandate for reform at every turn.

The Advertiser in March revealed Mr Lucas would launch another ploy to deregulate shopping hours, while the referendum legislation was approved by the Liberal party room on Monday night.

Mr Lucas said urgent reform was vital to support local businesses struggling to respond to rapidly changing consumer needs accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The rise of online shopping, flexible work hours and working-from-home arrangements demand our laws keep up with the changing times and reflect the modern society in which we live,” he said.

Highlighting a global surge in online shopping, Mr Lucas cited Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showing total online sales averaged a year-on-year rise of 64.8 per cent between the 12 months from April last year to this March.