Small retail businesses oppose plan

A bid to extend retail trading hours in Busselton is being resisted by the majority of stakeholders.

Community consultation ended last Friday on a City of Busselton proposal which, if endorsed, would allow retailers to trade from 8am to 9pm seven days a week.

Stores would still close on Christmas Day and Good Friday and would open from 1pm to 9pm on Anzac Day.

Community and commercial services director Naomi Searle said the City received 95 submissions, 79 of which were against changes to the current trading hours.

Ms Searle said the majority of respondents felt the multinational supermarket chains would dominate the retail sector to the detriment of independent local businesses. She said a batch of 63 submissions was handed into the City by an individual, indicating a collection point may have been established.

Busselton Fresh IGA owner Tanya Loftus said small businesses in Busselton could already open 24 hours a day and the changes only affected major retailers such as Coles and Woolworths.

“The reason why major retailers are restricted in their opening hours is because the government, many years ago, recognised it was necessary to ensure a level playing field, otherwise these large retailers would eventually dominate the marketplace and decimate small retailers, ” she said.

Ms Loftus said her business was affected by increased trading hours in 2012 and she had reduced her staff after losing customers to major supermarkets.

She said major retailers didn’t attract tourists to the region because they came to visit the attractions.

Busselton Chamber of Commerce chief executive Ray McMillan said the Chamber understood the need to have a healthy mix of small and large retailers, but this must be considered in the context of a rapidly growing regional economy. Mr McMillan said Busselton’s trading hours should be more aligned with the likes of Margaret River and Dunsborough.

“We are now a major retail centre, a city, and have to be working in the same sort of environment as others, ” he said.

Councillors will now formally consider the matter before any application is made.

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