Felicity Caldwell reports in the Brisbane Times (14.2.17) on moves by the Palaszczuk government to reform and extend retail trading hours in Queensland, the first such move in two decades.
‘Hardware stores will open from 6am on Sundays and supermarkets in south-east Queensland will be allowed to open from 7am to 9pm six days a week under changes set to be introduced.
‘But there will not be a total deregulation of trading hours for all retailers.
‘The Queensland government publicly released a report into trading hours in Queensland, committing to implement almost all of the 13 recommendations.
‘Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was the biggest shake-up in trading hours in Queensland for more than 20 years.
‘… The changes could help shops combat the lure of online shopping, with the Trading Hours Review Reference Group report stating that restricting trading hours reduced the industry’s competitiveness, including with online retailers.’