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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2397 ..

MS REILLY (continuing):

John Howard is working hard on that, with support from his colleagues here in this Assembly. In the other industries that are seen as the growth industries here, which we are told about so often - the tourism and hospitality industries - people do not work from nine to five. In most cases, they work 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This Government has supported the development of the secondary labour market. It has supported the casualisation of labour. It does not feel that people should have to have fixed hours of working. It is happy for people to be part-time workers. But it will not let you shop at a time convenient to you. If you are working in the hospitality industry, you do not have the joy of finishing at 5 o'clock so that you can do your shopping by 6 o'clock, before the shops shut. You often work until 10 o'clock at night or later. Where are these people supposed to shop? They do not have the conveniences that those lucky people who just work nine to five have. They work a lot of different hours. The tourism and hospitality industries are two industries that are trumpeted as the way to go. But we do not do anything to support the people who work in those industries by providing them with flexible retail shopping hours. We must go back to fixed regulations.

That is the other interesting aspect of the proposed amendments to the Trading Hours Act. This Government has talked a lot about red tape. It has talked a lot about regulation. I can remember before the 1995 election many statements about how dreadful the Labor Government was in terms of regulation; how that Government stopped people from being able to get on with the job and stopped businesses from operating, because there were too many regulations. But what will these amendments do? They will regulate when shopowners and shop proprietors can trade and they will take away choice from consumers. So, instead of being concerned about what consumers can do in terms of retail trade, they are looking to reduce the services to consumers, contrary to their stated policies.

But let us look also at the town centres and the group centres. That seems to be one of the things being discussed in detail. Let us look particularly at the situation down in Weston Creek and Woden, the area that I know best and an area that Mr Humphries also is very familiar with. He was quite explicit about it yesterday in question time. I would ask: Why, how, and in what way will the small supermarkets in Weston Creek be assisted by this proposal? Mr Humphries suggested yesterday that what was killing the local shops in Weston Creek was the group centres. But nothing is being done about the group centres. Nothing is being done to change the trading hours of the group centre in Weston Creek. There is a Woolworths there. It can continue to trade until 12 o'clock.

Mr Whitecross: This will make them more profitable.

MS REILLY: The group centres?

Mr Whitecross: Yes; you will not be able to go to the town centres, so you will go to the group centre supermarkets, and they will make more money.

MS REILLY: Exactly. What is going to happen to the local supermarkets in Weston Creek? How are they going to be assisted by these amendments?

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