MTA Welcomes Trading Hours Decision

The MTA is pleased the State Government has listened to its concerns and will not extend trading hours for vehicle and boat dealers.

On September 8, the government introduced legislation to Parliament to allow trading on Sundays from 9am, instead of 11am.

Premier Peter Malinauskas said the Shop Trading Hours (Extension of Hours) Amendment Bill achieved “the right balance”.

The MTA opposed the previous government’s policy of full deregulation, which it warned could lead to a “free for all”.

“Opening at 9 am on Sunday is fine for supermarkets but not for car dealers and boat dealers who are covered under the Shop Trading Act,” said Kaes Cillessen, the MTA’s Policy and Communications Manager.

“We know from experience in Victoria and New South Wales that extending trading hours does not lead to any increase in vehicle sales.

“All it does is increase costs, especially staffing expenses incurred on a Sunday.”

The MTA has commissioned numerous surveys over many years, and MTA member opposition to Sunday trading has always been over 90%.

Evidence suggests that people are now attending dealerships less than ever before. In the pre-internet era, people would visit multiple dealerships to undertake research. This is now done online and purchasers make an average of just 1.4 visits per sale.

“If there is a proposal that led to more sales, the MTA would be open to discussions,” said Kaes.

“But members are able to get exemptions now. A good example of this is the tradition in the industry of trading on Easter Saturday.”

He said suggestions that unions may have a power of veto over granting exemptions to what is largely a non-unionised sector would be a “concern”. In response, the MTA has written to the Minister for Industrial Relations, Kyam Maher, with suggested amendments to the Bill to allow the Minister the ability to grant exemptions in the event that a union or peak employer association sector would not reasonably apply to a trading exemption request.

Minister for Industrial Relations, Kyam Maher, said: “I trust this legislation will help deliver certainty for shoppers, workers and businesses about the trading landscape in South Australia going forward.”