Groups Endorse Full Deregulation of WA Trading Hours

Groups Endorse Full Deregulation of WA Trading HoursKey industry groups have combined to endorse a major recommendation by the Economic Regulatory Authority for the full deregulation of retail trading hours in Western Australia.The Property Council of Australia, Shopping Centre Council of Australia and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA have thrown their support behind the Economic Regulation Authority’s draft recommendation that trading hours be fully deregulated in WA, with the exception of Christmas Day, ANZAC Day morning and Good Friday.The ERA’s draft report on its Inquiry into Microeconomic Reform found:WA’s retail trading hours are amongst the most restrictive in Australia.There is no market failure that justifies the current restricted retail trading hours.Current restrictive trading hours prevent people shopping when and where they choose.Consumer choice, rather than Government regulation, should determine when shops open.Regulation of trading hours prevents competition with online trading.The ERA noted that the restrictive Sunday trading hours causes unnecessary queuing before the 11am opening and frustrates people who want to do their shopping early on a Sunday to free up the afternoon.Joe Lenzo, Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia, said “the ERA has proven without a doubt the need for the full deregulation of retail trading hours in WA.”Angus Nardi, Deputy Director of the Shopping Centre Council of Australia, said “further liberalisation makes perfect sense given Perth embraced Sunday trading faster than when it was introduced in other cities like Brisbane (in August 2002) and Adelaide (in October 2003). The proposed public holiday restrictions are consistent with Victoria and Tasmania, but the WA Government would be well ahead of the NSW, Queensland and South Australia governments if they adopted this approach.”We encourage the government to take the final steps to free retailers to meet their customer’s demands. Full deregulation of trading hours will provide more opportunity for shops to compete with online retailers, greater job opportunities for workers and encourage more investment in the retail sector,” CCI CEO Deidre Willmott said.Media contact: Joe Lenzo, Executive Director: Property Council, (08) 9426 1200 or 0419 044 768 Angus Nardi, Deputy Director: SCCA, 0408 079 184. Adam Duke, Team Leader, Government & Media Relations: CCIWA, (08) 9365 727 or 0468 988 911