By Margaret Maccoll
While state politicians debate trading hours, White’s IGA owner Roz White is closely watching proceedings in the hope they are not extended.
Roz owns four Whites IGAs in Peregian Beach, Bli Bli, Mt Coolum, and Mooloolaba and in 23 years business has felt the effects of extending trading hours first hand.
She said while it benefitted the major supermarkets it dramatically affected her business.
“It’s happened to our business several times. Every time we’ve had to create redundancies and it’s caused up to 40 per cent less trade,” she said.
Employment and Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said the Trading (Allowable Hours) Amendment Bill, currently being debated, aimed at creating jobs and cutting red tape.
Ms Grace said government’s proposed reforms were backed by the National Retail Association, the Shopping Centre Council of Australia and Queensland Tourism Industry Council.
“Small businesses can leverage and mutually benefit from larger retailers opening,” she said.
However, Roz disputed these claims saying she’d never seen the facts to back up that assertion.
She said it was the broader ramifications for small suppliers that were important.
“We bring local businesses to life and that creates a healthy market. It builds choice,” she said.
State Member for Noosa Glen Elmes said the government’s attempt to standardise trading hours would not create jobs and would not stimulate our local economy.
“Rather, it will lead to less employment due to a drop in independent retail sales, of which hundreds of millions of dollars are injected into the Queensland economy by small independent players, such as independent retailers IGA,” he said.
