“In the South Australian Business Chamber’s 2018 Charter for a More Prosperous South Australia, we reaffirmed our long-standing support for deregulation of South Australia’s archaic shop-trading hours restrictions, including on public holidays when suburban shopping centres cannot open but Rundle Mall can,” Mr Penney said.
Prior to the election, the South Australian Business Chamber commissioned the world-renowned Institute for Choice from the University of South Australia to undertake independent research on the preferences of consumers across the state for shop-trading hours.
The research revealed 74 per cent of consumers supported deregulation of shop trading hours, with frustrations at not being able to shop in a full-size supermarket after 5pm on a Saturday and Sunday, or before 11am on a Sunday. 58 per cent of consumers also wanted to shop outside of the CBD on a public holiday.
“Unfortunately, every time there is a public holiday in South Australia we are reminded that we cannot go to a suburban shopping centre in metropolitan Adelaide, except for Rundle Mall,” Mr Penney said.
“We also cannot go to a full-size supermarket in Adelaide on a public holiday, but if we go to Mount Barker less than half an hour up the freeway, we don’t have the same issue.”
“We need to remember that we are in 2018 now and the Liberal Government has been elected on a platform of deregulating shop trading hours restrictions, which has already been the case across regional South Australia for about fifteen years.”
“No one has suggested in the time since shop trading hours were deregulated in all major towns across regional South Australia that the sky has fallen in and in fact, most supermarkets do not open later than 8 or 9pm.”
“No one can tell a farmer when to sow their crop and it is not the Government’s place to tell shops when they can open, except for some legislative provisions which already exist to protect small tenants in shopping centres.”
The South Australian Business Chamber is the state’s peak business membership organisation and while most of our members are small businesses, more than 80 per cent support deregulation of shop trading hours, which is contrary to the common perception that the small business lobby favours the status quo.
To arrange an interview or for further information, please call Lindy Scott on 0411 510 849.
