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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2405 ..

Ms McRae: Ha, ha, ha.

MR STEFANIAK: That is important. You might laugh, Ms McRae, but you lot did absolutely nothing to address this when you were here. I quote:

... but only the ACT has tried to find a legislative balance between the needs of small business, big business and the community -

at least this Government is trying -

The bill will replace the act that now regulates trading hours. This was based on the category of goods ...

It goes on about that. It is interesting, Mr Speaker, that this article goes on about problems Australia-wide. It states:

Extended trading hours may be linked to the decline in the retail property markets in traditional or strip shopping centres, according to Dr Robert Baker, senior lecturer, Department of Geography and Planning, The University of New England, Armidale, NSW.

"Studies show that a substantial extension of trading hours allows supermarkets to increase their trade hours, but a lot of traditional strip shopping centres suffer. In some of those centres, there are about 20 per cent vacant shops.

"We need our supermarkets, -

well, I do not think anyone here disputes that -

but if they set the hours to suit themselves I do not think that will benefit the community.".

Some of the members opposite, especially the Labor Party, talk about social justice. They constantly worry about the underprivileged, the people who do not have the opportunities to move about, who do not have mobility, who do not have income, the elderly, the unemployed, people on pensions, single mothers, and people with no transport. These are the very people who suffer when a neighbourhood centre goes down the gurgler.

Ms McRae: Give it away.

MR STEFANIAK: What hypocrisy, Ms McRae; what absolute hypocrisy. These quite clearly are the people who suffer. I think that is something the Greens realise. That is probably one of their big points, but here the party which champions social justice is doing absolutely nothing to help these people. At least we are having a go.

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