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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (5 September) . . Page.. 3205 ..

MR SPEAKER: Order! I would remind members that, apart from interjections being out of order, they are even more out of order if you are out of your seat. I know it is a testing time and we are all tired. We are going to be finished this section of the debate in 20 minutes' time. That is as far as it goes. I would hate, at this point in time, to have to name somebody.

MR WHITECROSS: Name Mr De Domenico.

MR SPEAKER: It may affect the vote, quite seriously.

MR WHITECROSS: It is okay with me. Name Mr De Domenico.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Whitecross, continue.

MR WHITECROSS: Thank you, Mr Speaker. As I was saying, high on the list of things that customers want is convenient hours. We have just got to another of the cruxes of this debate, Mr Speaker. As if convenient location and stores offering a wide variety of products at competitive prices are not enough, people want convenient hours, Mr Speaker. What are these people doing? They say, "Close at 7 o'clock. Close. No more".

So much for convenient hours, Mr Speaker! If you live adjacent to a town centre, it is bad luck if you want to go to the shops after 7 o'clock. You have to drive all over the place to find a supermarket, when you had a perfectly good supermarket down the road offering a wide variety of products at competitive prices. You are not allowed to shop there. You are not allowed to shop at that supermarket because Mr De Domenico and this Government are trying to make life hard for you.

What if you are working late and you want to shop on the way home? That is a kind of convenience. As Choice said, with changing lifestyles, longer working hours, and an increase in the number of relationships where both partners work, flexible trading hours are crucial. So what do they do? Bad luck! You just miss out. You are not going to be able to shop after 7 o'clock. You have to leave work early if you want to go to the shops now. Mr Speaker, so much for convenient hours!

What else do people like? Plenty of parking. Town centres score pretty well on plenty of parking. They also like a wide variety of products and brands. Once again, Mr Speaker, it is inevitable that a big supermarket like a town centre supermarket is going to meet that criterion, and the Government wants to shut down some of these supermarkets.

Mr De Domenico: Or Dickson, Calwell - - -

MR WHITECROSS: Mr De Domenico mentions Dickson. I am sure that people who live in Braddon or Reid and have a perfectly good supermarket just down the road from them are going to be really pleased to hear Mr De Domenico tell them that they have to go all the way to Dickson to shop. I am sure they will appreciate it. I am sure the people who live - - -

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