❓ The Minister addresses a question about whether the Opposition made a submission to the retail trading hours review. The Minister uses the opportunity to criticize the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party for allegedly spreading misinformation and contradicting past statements on the issue.
AnsweredQoN 514Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Can the minister please outline whether the Opposition has made a submission to the review of retail trading hours? Mr J.C. KOBELKE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. To my knowledge, no formal submission has been made. However, we have had the submissions that have been made in various forms and put into the public arena, because the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at the Western Australian Independent Grocers Association meeting last week - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. As I indicated last week, I checked that, and it turns out that it is simply not true. However, we have not had an apology from the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. He has not tried to correct the record. In fact, he said in a press release dated 13 March - . . . if deregulation goes ahead, the State could also lose money in the form of compensation to people badly affected by the decision. However, there are no such National Competition Council guidelines and there is no requirement to pay compensation, so he continues to propagate an untruth. Even the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, which normally does not back the Government on things, said in a press release - One would expect the alternative deputy premier to have a better knowledge of the competition policy provisions. Clearly the CCI knows that the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party is saying things that are simply not true. He does that and simply does not make a correction. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party has a track record. I briefly remind the House how, according to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission submission on the Government’s petrol pricing issues was leaked. However, he did not tell anyone that the submission had been on the departmental web site for some months. He claimed it was leaked to give it prominence somehow. Such comments are heard time after time. The Government had a submission, but it was not a formal one; nevertheless, it was out in the public arena. Members opposite are not quite sure what they submit. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at an independent grocers meeting that any talk of deregulation was pretty much signing a death warrant for hundreds, maybe thousands, of small businesses in this State. That does not sit with some other statements by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. The Hansard of the debate on the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Bill of 28 April 1998 reports the current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, then only the member for Mitchell, as follows - The extension of trading hours arises from time to time and coincidentally has affected the shopping centre at Australind to which I referred earlier. I am a strong proponent of extended trading hours. The greater Bunbury area has experienced significant benefits as a result of local authorities, chambers of commerce and individual shopkeepers going down this path. The member said, as recorded in Hansard , that businesses would benefit from extended hours, and then told small retailers that such extension would put them out of business. Which submission do we take? Do we take his other little comment last week that he has some experience as a former specialty shopkeeper in a shopping centre? He did not say what sort of specialty shop; I suspect it was a bakery, as he is a specialist in making porky pies.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for the question. To my knowledge, no formal submission has been made. However, we have had the submissions that have been made in various forms and put into the public arena, because the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at the Western Australian Independent Grocers Association meeting last week - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. As I indicated last week, I checked that, and it turns out that it is simply not true. However, we have not had an apology from the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. He has not tried to correct the record. In fact, he said in a press release dated 13 March - . . . if deregulation goes ahead, the State could also lose money in the form of compensation to people badly affected by the decision. However, there are no such National Competition Council guidelines and there is no requirement to pay compensation, so he continues to propagate an untruth. Even the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, which normally does not back the Government on things, said in a press release - One would expect the alternative deputy premier to have a better knowledge of the competition policy provisions. Clearly the CCI knows that the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party is saying things that are simply not true. He does that and simply does not make a correction. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party has a track record. I briefly remind the House how, according to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission submission on the Government’s petrol pricing issues was leaked. However, he did not tell anyone that the submission had been on the departmental web site for some months. He claimed it was leaked to give it prominence somehow. Such comments are heard time after time. The Government had a submission, but it was not a formal one; nevertheless, it was out in the public arena. Members opposite are not quite sure what they submit. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at an independent grocers meeting that any talk of deregulation was pretty much signing a death warrant for hundreds, maybe thousands, of small businesses in this State. That does not sit with some other statements by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. The Hansard of the debate on the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Bill of 28 April 1998 reports the current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, then only the member for Mitchell, as follows - The extension of trading hours arises from time to time and coincidentally has affected the shopping centre at Australind to which I referred earlier. I am a strong proponent of extended trading hours. The greater Bunbury area has experienced significant benefits as a result of local authorities, chambers of commerce and individual shopkeepers going down this path. The member said, as recorded in Hansard , that businesses would benefit from extended hours, and then told small retailers that such extension would put them out of business. Which submission do we take? Do we take his other little comment last week that he has some experience as a former specialty shopkeeper in a shopping centre? He did not say what sort of specialty shop; I suspect it was a bakery, as he is a specialist in making porky pies.
I thank the member for the question. To my knowledge, no formal submission has been made. However, we have had the submissions that have been made in various forms and put into the public arena, because the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at the Western Australian Independent Grocers Association meeting last week - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. As I indicated last week, I checked that, and it turns out that it is simply not true. However, we have not had an apology from the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. He has not tried to correct the record. In fact, he said in a press release dated 13 March - . . . if deregulation goes ahead, the State could also lose money in the form of compensation to people badly affected by the decision. However, there are no such National Competition Council guidelines and there is no requirement to pay compensation, so he continues to propagate an untruth. Even the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, which normally does not back the Government on things, said in a press release - One would expect the alternative deputy premier to have a better knowledge of the competition policy provisions. Clearly the CCI knows that the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party is saying things that are simply not true. He does that and simply does not make a correction. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party has a track record. I briefly remind the House how, according to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission submission on the Government’s petrol pricing issues was leaked. However, he did not tell anyone that the submission had been on the departmental web site for some months. He claimed it was leaked to give it prominence somehow. Such comments are heard time after time. The Government had a submission, but it was not a formal one; nevertheless, it was out in the public arena. Members opposite are not quite sure what they submit. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at an independent grocers meeting that any talk of deregulation was pretty much signing a death warrant for hundreds, maybe thousands, of small businesses in this State. That does not sit with some other statements by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. The Hansard of the debate on the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Bill of 28 April 1998 reports the current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, then only the member for Mitchell, as follows - The extension of trading hours arises from time to time and coincidentally has affected the shopping centre at Australind to which I referred earlier. I am a strong proponent of extended trading hours. The greater Bunbury area has experienced significant benefits as a result of local authorities, chambers of commerce and individual shopkeepers going down this path. The member said, as recorded in Hansard , that businesses would benefit from extended hours, and then told small retailers that such extension would put them out of business. Which submission do we take? Do we take his other little comment last week that he has some experience as a former specialty shopkeeper in a shopping centre? He did not say what sort of specialty shop; I suspect it was a bakery, as he is a specialist in making porky pies.
Members opposite are not quite sure what they submit. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at an independent grocers meeting that any talk of deregulation was pretty much signing a death warrant for hundreds, maybe thousands, of small businesses in this State. That does not sit with some other statements by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. The Hansard of the debate on the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Bill of 28 April 1998 reports the current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, then only the member for Mitchell, as follows - The extension of trading hours arises from time to time and coincidentally has affected the shopping centre at Australind to which I referred earlier. I am a strong proponent of extended trading hours. The greater Bunbury area has experienced significant benefits as a result of local authorities, chambers of commerce and individual shopkeepers going down this path. The member said, as recorded in Hansard , that businesses would benefit from extended hours, and then told small retailers that such extension would put them out of business. Which submission do we take? Do we take his other little comment last week that he has some experience as a former specialty shopkeeper in a shopping centre? He did not say what sort of specialty shop; I suspect it was a bakery, as he is a specialist in making porky pies.
Mr J.C. KOBELKE replied: I thank the member for the question. To my knowledge, no formal submission has been made. However, we have had the submissions that have been made in various forms and put into the public arena, because the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at the Western Australian Independent Grocers Association meeting last week - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. As I indicated last week, I checked that, and it turns out that it is simply not true. However, we have not had an apology from the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. He has not tried to correct the record. In fact, he said in a press release dated 13 March - . . . if deregulation goes ahead, the State could also lose money in the form of compensation to people badly affected by the decision. However, there are no such National Competition Council guidelines and there is no requirement to pay compensation, so he continues to propagate an untruth. Even the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, which normally does not back the Government on things, said in a press release - One would expect the alternative deputy premier to have a better knowledge of the competition policy provisions. Clearly the CCI knows that the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party is saying things that are simply not true. He does that and simply does not make a correction. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party has a track record. I briefly remind the House how, according to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission submission on the Government’s petrol pricing issues was leaked. However, he did not tell anyone that the submission had been on the departmental web site for some months. He claimed it was leaked to give it prominence somehow. Such comments are heard time after time. The Government had a submission, but it was not a formal one; nevertheless, it was out in the public arena. Members opposite are not quite sure what they submit. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at an independent grocers meeting that any talk of deregulation was pretty much signing a death warrant for hundreds, maybe thousands, of small businesses in this State. That does not sit with some other statements by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. The Hansard of the debate on the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Bill of 28 April 1998 reports the current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, then only the member for Mitchell, as follows - The extension of trading hours arises from time to time and coincidentally has affected the shopping centre at Australind to which I referred earlier. I am a strong proponent of extended trading hours. The greater Bunbury area has experienced significant benefits as a result of local authorities, chambers of commerce and individual shopkeepers going down this path. The member said, as recorded in Hansard , that businesses would benefit from extended hours, and then told small retailers that such extension would put them out of business. Which submission do we take? Do we take his other little comment last week that he has some experience as a former specialty shopkeeper in a shopping centre? He did not say what sort of specialty shop; I suspect it was a bakery, as he is a specialist in making porky pies.
I thank the member for the question. To my knowledge, no formal submission has been made. However, we have had the submissions that have been made in various forms and put into the public arena, because the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at the Western Australian Independent Grocers Association meeting last week - . . . the National Competition Council has got new guidelines . . . and those guidelines provide very, very explicitly that when you make changes that affect people adversely now you have to pay them compensation. As I indicated last week, I checked that, and it turns out that it is simply not true. However, we have not had an apology from the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. He has not tried to correct the record. In fact, he said in a press release dated 13 March - . . . if deregulation goes ahead, the State could also lose money in the form of compensation to people badly affected by the decision. However, there are no such National Competition Council guidelines and there is no requirement to pay compensation, so he continues to propagate an untruth. Even the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia, which normally does not back the Government on things, said in a press release - One would expect the alternative deputy premier to have a better knowledge of the competition policy provisions. Clearly the CCI knows that the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party is saying things that are simply not true. He does that and simply does not make a correction. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party has a track record. I briefly remind the House how, according to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission submission on the Government’s petrol pricing issues was leaked. However, he did not tell anyone that the submission had been on the departmental web site for some months. He claimed it was leaked to give it prominence somehow. Such comments are heard time after time. The Government had a submission, but it was not a formal one; nevertheless, it was out in the public arena. Members opposite are not quite sure what they submit. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at an independent grocers meeting that any talk of deregulation was pretty much signing a death warrant for hundreds, maybe thousands, of small businesses in this State. That does not sit with some other statements by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. The Hansard of the debate on the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Bill of 28 April 1998 reports the current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, then only the member for Mitchell, as follows - The extension of trading hours arises from time to time and coincidentally has affected the shopping centre at Australind to which I referred earlier. I am a strong proponent of extended trading hours. The greater Bunbury area has experienced significant benefits as a result of local authorities, chambers of commerce and individual shopkeepers going down this path. The member said, as recorded in Hansard , that businesses would benefit from extended hours, and then told small retailers that such extension would put them out of business. Which submission do we take? Do we take his other little comment last week that he has some experience as a former specialty shopkeeper in a shopping centre? He did not say what sort of specialty shop; I suspect it was a bakery, as he is a specialist in making porky pies.
Members opposite are not quite sure what they submit. The Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party said at an independent grocers meeting that any talk of deregulation was pretty much signing a death warrant for hundreds, maybe thousands, of small businesses in this State. That does not sit with some other statements by the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. The Hansard of the debate on the Commercial Tenancy (Retail Shops) Agreements Amendment Bill of 28 April 1998 reports the current Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, then only the member for Mitchell, as follows - The extension of trading hours arises from time to time and coincidentally has affected the shopping centre at Australind to which I referred earlier. I am a strong proponent of extended trading hours. The greater Bunbury area has experienced significant benefits as a result of local authorities, chambers of commerce and individual shopkeepers going down this path. The member said, as recorded in Hansard , that businesses would benefit from extended hours, and then told small retailers that such extension would put them out of business. Which submission do we take? Do we take his other little comment last week that he has some experience as a former specialty shopkeeper in a shopping centre? He did not say what sort of specialty shop; I suspect it was a bakery, as he is a specialist in making porky pies.
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