opinion
Laura Newell: Deregulated shopping would help create the vibrant, bustling retail precincts WA needs

Let me take you back in time to a Christmas past, when peplum tops were the height of fashion, Gotye’s earworm Somebody That I Used to Know topped the charts, London hosted the Olympics and we all flocked to see Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Rises on the big screen. It was 2012, Colin Barnett was premier of WA while Mark McGowan had taken the reins of the then-opposition party nearly a year earlier and, excitingly, Perth had finally joined the modern world and allowed Sunday trading. Mr McGowan had dragged his party kicking and screaming into the 21st century on the subject less than two hours after his appointment as Labor leader, announcing a major shift to its stance on shopping hours. “It’s a mess, it’s confusing, it’s bad for tourism, it’s uncertain for consumers,” Mr McGowan said of the situation at the time. “I made it very clear to my colleagues that the Sunday trading issue has dragged on for too long and needs to be resolved.” While opponents said people would merely shift their shopping days rather than digging deeper into their pockets, and it would have dire consequences for small businesses and beleaguered workers forced into working anti-social hours, Mr Barnett’s team hailed it as offering “increased sales and greater employment”, allowing “bricks and mortar retailers to be able to compete more effectively with their online competitors”. He was right. On the ground car parks were full and reports just a few months later claimed more than 1000 casual jobs had been created with sales up between 3 and 6 per cent per month. But it was still a world away from full deregulation and shopping rules in the Wait Awhile State remain a frustrating mess. To this day, you can buy a barbecue from Bunnings before 11am (they are allowed to open between 6.30am to 11.30pm every day), but not from Harvey Norman and regional restrictions depend on the view of their local governments. As a result, almost like clockwork, the question of shopping regulation pops up around Christmas time as customers enjoy additional festive opening hours, and query why it isn’t so the rest of the year. The State Government announces the additional hours each year as if they are Santa’s elves gifting candy to children. But come the end of the jingle tills season, it’s back to being Scrooge. And the farcical nature of our trading laws was on full display even as recently as just last year with Bunnings revealing it could only introduce its range of pet products in the two of its 38 WA stores that didn’t have early trading licences — Bunbury and Armadale — because of the oddities. “Under the trading rules we choose to open most of our WA stores with extended hours because we know customers and tradies need access to essential home repair and maintenance products,” Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider said then. “I think it’s a logical time to look at the rules again.” Over the weekend, Libby Mettam showed that someone at least was listening, pledging she would champion trade on a Sunday starting at 9am if she becomes premier next year. But she seems to have stopped short of going gung-ho for the full deregulation WA needs the way the Nationals have, instead saying that while there was a “good argument for it” an earlier Sunday start was a “step in the right direction”. I think she’s wrong. The arguments for deregulation are more than good — they are excellent and we can’t wait for this change if we want to keep bricks and mortar shops alive in this state and create vibrant retail precincts for locals and tourists alike. Not only do I believe sales would shift from online to the high street if we deregulate (why wait two weeks for a delivery, when you can get it today?), but it could also be the magic bullet when it comes to waking up Perth’s city centre, as well as other open-air malls such as those found in Joondalup and South Perth, offering a bustling city centre lifestyle for WA akin to those that Europeans in, say, Paris and Rome enjoy during their summers. Think shops opening in the cool early morning to capture the pre-work rush, pausing in the middle of the day as our harsh sun makes carrying heavy bags, or schlepping from the car park or on the train unpleasant, and then re-opening in the evening with shoppers browsing tarrying a while to have a drink at a pavement cafe or bar, as the heat of the day subsides. Watch and marvel as suddenly families flock to Elizabeth Quay and spend money in shops that could line the streets from main malls to the water. And consider the jobs that could open up to suit a variety of people — mums wanting evening work once Dad finishes his 9-5, or students who want work after uni finishes for the day. Or, in this cost-of-living crisis, someone who wants a few hours to top up their pot. Will it all happen at once? Will all shops open at different times? Will it all be sunshine and roses? No, the market will (likely messily) shake out the eventual outcome. But we know it works because it has the world over and we’re now at a point, frankly, where we can’t afford not to do it — we’re falling far behind other Australian cities who made these changes a long time ago. WA needs to swallow its fear of change on this issue once and for all and allow our shopping ecosystem to do its thing.

opinionLaura Newell: Deregulated shopping would help create the vibrant, bustling retail precincts WA needs

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opinion
Laura Newell: Deregulated shopping would help create the vibrant, bustling retail precincts WA needs