Queensland trading hours reforms facing defeat in State Parliament

UPDATE: THE Palaszczuk Government has put off a vote on trading hours until mid June in the hopes it can get the numbers to pass it by then.

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THE Palaszczuk Government has put off a vote on trading hours until mid June in the hopes it can get the numbers to pass it by then.

The Parliament was due to vote today on new laws that would have standardised trading hours across the state.

But the Government delayed it after it became apparent that they would lose the vote, with the crossbench and LNP lined up against the changes, which they said would help the supermarket duopoly at the expense of small businesses.

Earlier it was reported, the State Government was headed for an embarrassing defeat of its trading hours shake-up, with the crossbench set to side with the Opposition.

Lauded by Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace as the biggest shake-up to Queensland’s retail sector in decades, the legislation to standardise opening laws – including Sunday and public holiday trading from 9am to 6pm – was to create 1000 new jobs and increase choice for shoppers.

Ms Grace today appealed to the LNP to change its position on trading hours laws.

She said the changes had wide backing and the LNP constantly said it wanted to slash red tape.

“We want to slash the number of trading hours provisions in Queensland from 99 to just seven – a red tape reduction of 93 per cent,” Ms Grace said.

“It’s high time the LNP supported reform, instead of ignoring what retailers and consumers actually want.”

Ms Grace said the laws would actually help small business, not hinder it.

“Small businesses can leverage and mutually benefit from larger retailers opening,” she said.

“According to the Shopping Centre Council of Australia, for every large store that opens, at least 30 specialty retailers also open their doors.

“Larger retailers help to drive the foot traffic that’s absolutely crucial to so many small businesses.”

But Katter’s Australian Party’s Robbie Katter and Shane Knuth, Independents Rob Pyne and Billy Gordon and One Nation’s Steve Dickson have together rejected the laws, which they say will only help grocery giants Coles and Woolworths.

Each said they believed the laws cemented the supermarket duopoly at the expense of small businesses.

Their votes will be the death knell after the LNP decided not to support the laws for the same reasons.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk maintains a brave face despite a horror week. Picture: Jono Searle

The laws seek to unwind a plethora of confusing and contradictory opening hour rules for supermarkets, department stores, hardware shops, butchers and other stores based on their size and number of staff.

Under them, shops such as butchers would be able to trade without restrictions, hardware stores could open on Sundays from 6am and shops could open on Easter Sunday.

Opposition industrial relations spokesman Jarrod Bleije said although the LNP agreed reforms were needed, Labor’s “secret review” of trading hours favoured the big traders at the expense of small business.

“I dispute, along with other industry groups, that these laws will create jobs,” he said last night.

“In fact, I think it will cost jobs. Competition requires small business to compete with the big guys.”

The vote, expected today, rounds out a bad week for Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, with factional feuding over a royalties deal for Adani’s Carmichael coalmine.

Labor’s last parliamentary defeat was last August, when it failed to bring in new tree-clearing laws.

National Retailers Association chief executive Dominique Lamb slammed the Opposition and crossbench for “jeopardising jobs and economic growth”.

“The modern global retail market is moving at lightening pace but Queensland retailers remain hamstrung by rules that were put in place nearly 30 years ago,” she said.

Ms Lamb said the Bill’s failure would cast a shadow over the Commonwealth Games, having contained a specific mechanism for extended shopping hours for international events.

But the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland welcomed the “commonsense” of crossbenchers.

“CCIQ recognises the need to cut red tape and confusion that currently exists, while opposing the full deregulation of trading hours,” the general manager of advocacy, Kate Whittle, said.

“Queensland’s trading hours arrangements as they stand undeniably offer independent businesses, especially those in regional areas, their last competitive edge by allowing them to trade when non-exempt stores are required to remain closed.”