Page 3171 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 11 September 1991
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I believe that it is appropriate for this Assembly at this stage to formalise the decision made by the Alliance Government 18 months ago and allow Saturday afternoon trading on a permanent basis.
Some would say that we do not need to be the same in the ACT as they are in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Darwin, where Saturday afternoon trading is already in place. It seems to me that if we seek to become a member of that family of large retail centres it is only appropriate that we go down the same path as those places. There are places where, at least until the recent past, Saturday afternoon trading has not been in place.
I understand that, at least until the recent past, both South Australia and Tasmania experienced difficulties in providing for Saturday afternoon trading, despite legislation that was introduced in, at least, the South Australian Parliament, but I would not consider them to be attractive exemplars for the ACT. We now have Saturday afternoon trading, in line with New South Wales and Victoria, and I believe that we should make sure it stays.
Saturday afternoon trading - an interesting acronym, SAT - I believe, has been successful. I recognise that some small traders in this Territory, indeed in most places where it is practised, still have some reservations about Saturday afternoon trading. However, I am aware that the arguments in favour of it are increasing all the time. In this period of recession it is difficult to argue that we should place restrictions of this kind on when and how traders may sell their goods and make their livelihoods.
I am also aware that, with the recession we currently experience, with the high interest rates that the Federal Government has made part of its fiscal policy, we find ourselves very much forced in many cases towards two-income families; two members of the same family have to work. It becomes very difficult for people to shop during ordinary trading hours. Sometimes Friday evenings and Saturday mornings simply are not enough to get around and do all the shopping that has to be done. Clearly, Mr Speaker, we need to acknowledge those new realities, to acknowledge the fact that people in this community do want to shop on Saturdays, and even on Sundays, and make some step towards providing that choice, that flexibility in our commercial arrangements.
As I have previously stated, the restriction on shopping hours in this Territory did not help our tourist industry, in particular. I think it is especially true to say that tourists found our shopping arrangements particularly awkward and inconvenient. They arrived in Canberra with dollars to spend and they found, to their surprise in many cases, often on the weekends, that stores were closed. Tourists were subjected to the usual mad rush on Saturday mornings to get any shopping done, and it reflected very poorly on Canberra's image.
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