Hansard: Retail Trading Hours Amendment, Gardiner
Author: admin
Published on: 16-September-2010
HON PHILIP GARDINER: I rise to speak against the Retail Trading Hours Amendment (Armadale Special Trading Precinct) Bill 2010 and the Retail Trading Hours Amendment (Midland Special Trading Precinct) Bill 2010. I represent a number of country towns that are not far away from the metropolitan area. The further extended retail trading hours extend from the heart of the city, where I can understand there is a benefit for tourism and for the vibrancy of Perth as a city, towards the perimeters, the closer it gets to cannibalising country retail businesses. We all know that cannibalism is a term that is often used when a new brand that is created cannibalises a former brand. This legislation is the cannibalisation of retail businesses in the regional towns. Those retail businesses are a very important part of the towns’ social fabric. Those towns comprise Moora, Gingin, Northam and some towns further south of the metropolitan area. The Midland precinct will affect Northam, Moora, Gingin and other northern towns. When country people come to Perth, they often spend only a day here before going home late in the afternoon or early evening. When they find that the shops are open, they will stop and do their shopping, for obvious and valid reasons, including that often there is a wider choice of products. I understand that there is a wider choice. However, that diminishes the retail dollar being spent in the country towns, which damages the fabric of the towns.
We have had a long debate about extended retail trading hours and about how it affects families. I wish someone would show me a study on the economic impact extended retail trading will have, because I have not seen one. We all talk about it and use our subjective analysis, but no-one has demonstrated to me that there is an incremental value to economic activity as a result of extended retail trading hours. In my simple way of thinking, X amount of dollars are spent on consumption. That will be spent whether we have six hours, 10 hours or 20 hours of trading in the day. I run a farming business. If I can get my harvest off in three weeks rather than six weeks, the shorter the better. The harvest generates the same amount of revenue but I get it off in half the time. For retailers, it must be pretty similar. If the same amount of retail dollars are on offer and they can get all of that within, say, 10 hours of business rather than 15 hours of business, that must give them a higher gross margin. But no-one has proffered any analysis that can demonstrate to me the economic benefit of extended retail trading hours. I therefore need say little more than outline that constituents of mine in those country towns are strongly opposed to extended retail trading hours because they fear there will be a negative impact on their individual business. I understand the impact on those businesses; I also understand the impact on the towns, and those are the reasons I oppose the bills.
