Page 2809 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 22 November 1989
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currently before the Industrial Relations Commission. In a letter to me dated 21 August, when this issue was first raised, the Deputy Chief Minister wrote:
I am aware of your concern that ACT trading hours restrictions are causing Canberra traders to lose business to traders in New South Wales and that visitors to the ACT are inconvenienced because of limitations to hours of trading, particularly over a weekend.
I am conscious of the disadvantage that ACT business is incurring at present when compared to the relaxed arrangements now in place in New South Wales. However, it is difficult to facilitate consultation on the matter between the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) and the Confederation of ACT Industry (CONFACT) until a case concerning wages and conditions for shop assistants currently before the Industrial Relations Commission is resolved.
The letter goes on from there, but that is as much as I will quote.
I understand, having spoken with Mr Whalan only the other day, that the Government has written a letter seeking to have this case expedited, if that is the term. We thought, back in August, that at that stage it was appropriate to wait for the case to be resolved. However, it is now the end of November, the ALP minority Government has announced that Saturday trading will be permitted in December, so it appears to me that, if the Government is willing to allow trading for one month of the year, in December, surely it would be appropriate for it to continue on in January. January is a time when many visitors come to our city and an appropriate time for afternoon trading to be in place. The Canberra community will need time before getting used to the change in trading hours, and for it to continue in January would be more appropriate than closing down for a month and then looking for changes in February or March.
Mr Speaker, it should also be pointed out that in Victoria the introduction of Saturday afternoon trading took place some months prior to the resolution of hours and conditions. Queensland also took a similar path, I understand, for independent retail shops. Saturday afternoon employment for shop assistants would be voluntary, and I believe in many cases additional part-time employment would be provided which would be of great benefit for those youth seeking employment or those, especially women, looking to re-enter the work force. We are certainly not proposing to take away any person's time off. I am sure many in the retail work force would appreciate working Saturday and having that time off during the week.
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