Legislative Council
The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Treasurer, representing the Premier, a question about Government promises in respect of shop trading hours.
Leave granted. The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: In 1995 there was a debate in this place on shop trading hours legislation which changed trading hours within the city. During that debate, some extensive negotiations went on between Mr Ingerson, representing the Government, the Small Retailers Association and myself, representing the Democrats. As a consequence of those negotiations, an agreement was signed by Mr Ingerson. He made it quite plain at those meetings that this agreement was signed with the full knowledge and consent of the Cabinet. The agreement states in part: The industry to be given reasonable notice of any future changes of not less than 12 months. I will not go into all the reasons for why notice of 12 months was requested, but it was recognised that if trading hours were changed small retailers would lose business and large retailers would pick up an extra 5 per cent. The Government said that it was considering implementing the legislation, which was passed late last year, almost immediately until the issue of this agreement was raised. An article in the Advertiser of 6 February this year states: Dr Armitage has now obtained legal advice that the 1995 agreement with the association was not legally binding. An honourable member interjecting: The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: And never intended to be. Mr Brownsea of the Small Retailers Association said that they would seek legal advice believing that the— The Hon. A.J. Redford interjecting: The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: Will you shut up? The Hon. A.J. Redford interjecting: The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: You are a twerp; you are an absolute twerp—just shut up! Members interjecting: The PRESIDENT: Order! The Hon. M.J. ELLIOTT: We had not sought legal advice until now because we thought the Government might be honest and stick to the agreement. The point is not whether or not the agreement was legally binding; the point is whether any agreement that the Government makes with anyone else is even worth the paper on which it is written. My question is: does the Government intend to stand by the promises it makes; and, if not, does it want the Democrats ever to believe anything that it has ever promised them again? The Hon. Diana Laidlaw: You said you weren't going to come back to Parliament. The PRESIDENT: Order!The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: I think it was very unfair of my colleague the Minister for Transport to remind the Leader of the Democrats that he had promised faithfully that he would never return to this Chamber, that he was going somewhere else. Let me admonish my colleague for raising that matter. Shame on you, Minister! One should not question the integrity of the Leader of the Australian Democrats. I will refer the honourable member's question to the Premier and bring back a reply.
See also Mike Elliott's News Release on this topic: 10 February 1999
Ian Gilfillan's News releases on the introduction of longer shopping hours: 23 March 1999 and 8 June 1999
and the Government's reply to Mike Elliott's question: 10 June 1999