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Sections in this issue outline (in order):
1. What they said. 2 The issue at a glance. 3 Background. 4 Internet information links. 5 and 6 Arguments for / against. 7 Further implications on this issue. 8 Newspaper items used in the compilation of the outline.

2003/08: Should Easter Sunday trading be banned in Victoria?

What they said ...
'Jeff Kennett abolished two public holidays, without reference to the people or the Parliament, and restricted substitute days as well ...When Steve Bracks legislates to restore the non-trading day status of Easter Sunday, in line with the rest of the country, he is pilloried for it. Where is the consistency?'
Letter to the Editor published in The Age from Kevin V. Russell, Geelong

'I don't think they (the Bracks Government) are doing this for religious reasons. They are doing this for the demands of their trade union partners'
The former Victorian Premier, Mr Jeff Kennett

The issue at a glance
On February 11, 2003, the Minister for Small Business, Marsha Thomson, announced that the Bracks Government would be reinstating Easter Sunday as a public holiday and once again making it a trading-free day on which the majority of shops would not be able to open.
The purpose of the Act was to undo part of the effect of the Kennett Government's Shop Trading Reform Act 1996.
The announcement immediately provoked criticism from a number of retailers' organisations and from the Victorian Opposition.
The new Public Holidays and Shop Trading Reform Acts (Amendment) Act 2003 became law on April 2. It provoked further criticism from the same groups.
Thirteen days later the Government amended the Act to allow chemists and petrol outlets specifically to operate on Easter Sunday.
Under the new Bracks Government legislation only chemists and petrol outlets together with shops with fewer than 20 employees would be able to open on Easter Sunday, other shops, including those in areas for which Easter Sunday was an important trading day due to local attractions staged over Easter, could apply to the Minister for Small Business to also be allowed to operate.

Background
Under the terms of the Shop Trading Reform Act 1996, introduced by the former Kennett Government, Victoria has the most liberal retail trading hours in Australia. All retail stores can trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week (subject to public holidays).
The Shop Trading Reform Act 1996 restricted trading on only three public holidays; namely - Good Friday, Christmas Day and half of Anzac Day.
Under the terms of the current Bracks Government's Public Holidays and Shop Trading Reform Acts (Amendment) Act 2003, Easter Sunday, which had been removed from the list of trading-free days by the 1996 Act, was restored as a trading-free day.
Some of the features of the Bracks Government's legislation that have attracted criticism are, in fact, features of the previous 1996 legislation.
The stipulation that shops employing fewer than 20 staff be exempt from trading bans on Easter Sunday was merely an extension of the 1996 law that had similarly allowed small operators to open on Good Friday, Christmas Day and half of Anzac Day.
The 1996 legislation included a long and rather curious list of other exempt retailers that could trade on Good Friday, Christmas Day and half of Anzac Day. This very extensive list, referred to in the 1996 legislation as Schedule 1, was made up of booksellers' and newsagents' shops, bread shops, chemists' shops, confectionery and pastry shops, dressmakers' shops, drycleaners' shops, eating houses and restaurants, fish and oyster shops, flower shops and retail plant nurseries, fruit and vegetable shops, hairdressers' shops, hardware shops, paint shops, petrol shops, pet shops including shops for the sale of aviary and cage birds or aquarium fish, photographers' shops, saddlery shops, shoe repairers' shops, shops for the sale of boats, caravans or other trailers or spare parts or accessories, shops for the sale of foodstuffs and groceries, motor car spare parts or accessories; or of old goods, being furniture, plate, china, statuettes and other curiosities and odds and ends of an artistic or antiquarian interest, shops for the sale of records, cassettes, tapes or video cassettes, shops for the sale of swimming pools, swimming pool equipment or supplies for swimming pools, shops for the sale of works of art or handicraft, souvenir shops, sporting goods shops located at sporting venues for the sale of goods appropriate for use at those venues, Stamp and coin shops, tailor's shops and undertakers' establishments.
It would appear that the Bracks Government did not want to have the same long list of exceptions from an Easter Sunday trading ban as were allowed in the Kennett Government's 1996 legislation for Christmas Day, Good Friday and Anzac Day. It therefore included in its legislation a provision that shops, including shops in a particular area, could apply to the relevant minister to be granted an exemption allowing them to trade.
Unfortunately, this meant that the vital services performed by chemists and petrol retailers were not given an automatic exemption. The Opposition noted this omission and the Government responded by introducing the Shop Trading Reform (Essential Goods Amendment) Act 2003 which exempted chemists and petrol outlets from the Easter Sunday trading ban but which left the discretion with the minister as to which other shops should be regarded as performing a vital service and so be exempt.

Internet information
The Bracks Government's Shop Trading Reform (Essential Goods Amendment) Act 2003 can be found at http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/sb/2003_Act/A01179.html
This became law on April 2, 2003, and acted to again make Easter Sunday a trading-free day for most retail outlets.

The Shop Trading Reform (Essential Goods Amendment) Act 2003 became law on April 15, 2003. This amended the previous Act to allow chemists and petrol outlets to operate on Easter Sunday. The full text of this Act can be found at http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/sb/2003_Act/A01179.html

The Kennett Government's Shop Trading Reform Act 1996 became law on November 6, 1996. It stipulated that on only two days a year, Christmas Day and Good Friday, need most retail outlets close. At any other time shops could open for 24 hours a day. Easter Sunday was removed from the list of trading-free days.
This Act also included Schedule 1, a long list of shops, which would be free to open on bothe Christmas day and Good Friday.
The full text of this Act can be found at http://www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au/sb/1996_Act/A00338.html

The Australian Retailers Association gives a simple overview of retail regulations in Victoria. This can be found at http://www.ara.com.au/ARA.132004:LISTRIGHT:0:pp=IRMEMBERON,pc=TRANDGVIC

A media release from the Minister for Small Business, Marsha Thomson, titled 'Public holiday harmonisation delivers fairness and certainty' outlines the Bracks Government's position on Easter Sunday trading and the reasons for the legislation it was about to introduce.
A full text of the media release can be found at http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/e741a3eefa539841ca256c8c0016eaac/7a86e03b73a1935dca256ccb00057dc8?OpenDocument

The Australian Retailers Association also issued a press release on February 11, indicating the reasons why it opposed the Bracks Government's intention to declare Easter a trading free day and to have Easter Saturday also reinstated as a public holiday.
The full text of this media release can be found at http://www.ara.com.au/vic_media/030211easter.doc

Arguments against banning Easter Sunday trading
1. Banning Easter Sunday trading restricts consumers' freedom of choice
Two customers shopping at a hardware store illegally open on Easter Sunday stated, 'We want to do the patio ... We bought the pots yesterday. Today it's the plants. It's a family day which often means shopping ...'
Mr Frank Penhalluriack, a hardware store owner who has previously gone to jail for Sunday trading when it was illegal, has stated, 'We open when the customers want us to, not when the Government tells us we can ... To me, shopping hours and trading hours have nothing to do with the Government; it is a free enterprise system. The days I want to open and the hours I want to open are between me and my customers.'

2. Banning Easter Sunday trading is a waste of police resources
A number of spokespeople for the Police Association of Victoria have indicated that they believe enforcing the State Government's ban on Easter Sunday trading is a poor use of police time.
Mr Graham Kent, the assistant secretary of the Police Association of Victoria has stated that monitoring shops for compliance with the trade ban was not a legitimate use of police personnel. Mr Kent considered this particularly the case given that Easter is traditionally a time when there are many road accidents and robberies.
Mr Graham stated that efforts to stop a repeat of last year's Easter road toll, when ten people died and 100 were injured, could be compromised by police involvement in enforcing trading laws. He said that police could be taken off road cameras and booze buses to deal with an issue that 'simply isn't police business'.
Christine Nixon, the Chief Police Commissioner, has indicated that the police would issue a notice of summons to rogue traders rather than force them to shut. However, Ms Nixon also indicated that road safety was the 'major priority' during Easter.
Brian Donegan, the executive director of the Australian Retailers Association, has claimed, 'It's a ridiculous situation where you have the limited number of police on their busiest weekend of the year looking at whether shops are open or closed - it's just crazy.'

3. The new Easter Sunday trading regulations are confusing
It has been claimed that the new regulations are confusing and so are difficult for traders to adhere to and police to enforce.
Most shops are supposedly required to close on Easter Sunday; however, if they employ fewer than 20 staff then they are allowed to remain open. It has been claimed that this created significant confusion, as for example, some McDonald's franchises opened on Easter Sunday. It would have been difficult for police to know whether these outlets were breaking the law or whether they did in fact employ fewer than twenty staff.
In addition, the trading ban applied in only certain areas of the state and more than 30 types of shop were exempt. Most of these exemptions are set out under the Shop Trading Reform Act 1996. Included under this Act are small grocery shops, bakers, dry cleaners and florists, all of which are able to trade on days where most traders are not allowed to operate. Those areas where exceptions were granted included the whole of the Surf Coast shire and the town of Stawell. A total of 21 regions were granted exemptions.
Further, on April 15 2003 the Government altered its own recent legislation, voting in favour of an Opposition amendment that made it legal for all garages and pharmacies to operate regardless of the number of staff they employed.
Critics maintain that all the exemptions and potential misinterpretations of the new law make it confusing and difficult to implement. There have been numerous commentators who have suggested that the police appeared to be unsure as to who was able to trade.
Mr Phil Honeywood, the Deputy Opposition Leader, stated, 'It's just a ridiculous, confused law ...'

4. The religious import of Easter is not significant for many Victorians
There are those who claim that we live in a post Christian society in which the religious significance of holidays such as Christmas and Easter is no longer important to the majority of Australians.
This point was made in an Age editorial published on April 21, 2003. The editorial stated, 'On any Sunday there are far more people in shops than in church, and for many Australians Easter Sunday is no different from any other Sunday. Wishful thinking by the Government will not change people's hearts.'
It has also been claimed that enforcing restricted trading hours on Easter Sunday denies the multicultural nature of Victoria, which has many within its population who are not Christian and for whom Easter Sunday is of no significance. This point was made in a letter written by Stephanie Omizzolo published in The Age on February 17, 2003. Ms Omizzolo stated, 'We are a very multicultural state, and to restrict retail trading so close to Easter is unfair.'
In a letter published in The Age on April 22, 2003, Mr Phillip Lyons wrote, 'Why is the Bracks Government returning us to the dark ages of religious discrimination in business? Easter is a Christian religious holiday: why should any business be dictated to by a government that forces it to close because of a religious holiday? ...
Should all stores then not close for Jewish, Chinese, Hindu, Muslim and other religious holidays? Of course not! Then no government should be allowed to pass discriminatory laws to force any business to close when they do not want to.'

5. Banning Easter Sunday trading harms businesses and the economy
The Victorian Opposition estimated that the Easter Sunday trading ban would cost Victorian businesses about $150 million.
As an example of businesses said to have lost significant revenue, Mr Peter Davis, the managing director of the hardware chain, Bunnings, has claimed that an estimated 200,000 people would have shopped in the 38 Bunnings stores in Victoria on Easter Sunday.
Brian Donegan, the executive director of the Australian Retailers Association, has also argued that the timing of the law change will worsen its effects on business. 'I think it is unacceptable that you can pull this out six to eight weeks before Easter,' Mr Donegan said. 'Most business people have done budgets and business plans based on trading on Easter Sunday, which is traditionally a very busy retail day. This will through them right off.'
Mr Frank Whitford, the chief executive officer of Mitre 10, said, 'It was a tragedy to drive around the streets and see so much capital invested and not working.'

6. Banning Easter Sunday trading harms Victoria's tourist industry
Brian Donegan, the executive director of the Australian Retailers Association, has argued, 'You have got an international city like Melbourne, the fashion capital of Australia, which is shut down for at least 50 per cent of the Easter weekend, if not three days out of the four. And it sends a very bad message to tourists ...'
Melbourne Lord Mayor, John So, sought unsuccessfully to have the city's retail traders exempted from any ban because he believed the ban would harm the city's reputation as a retail destination.
The Property Council of Australia claimed the decision meant Victoria would send a 'closed for business' message to Easter visitors.
According to this line of argument, opportunities to capture a tourist market are limited. Holiday periods are particularly important as the number of tourists travelling around Australia, especially to capital cities and regional centres, increases during holidays. Thus, it is argued, if retail outlets are forced to close during holiday periods they forfeit an income opportunity of real economic importance to them.

7. The Bracks' Government has banned Easter trading in order to please its union supporters
According to this line of argument, the Government has decided to reintroduce a ban on Easter Sunday trading in order to curry favour with one of its major union supporters.
The former Victorian Premier, Mr Jeff Kennett, has stated, 'I don't think they (the Government) are doing this for religious reasons. They are doing this for the demands of their trade union partners.'
Mr Bruce Atkinson, the Opposition small business spokesman, has made the same claim. Mr Atkinson has claimed that the Government's decision was influenced by the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association, which is a major financial contributor to the Victorian Labor Party.
Mr Atkinson has noted that the Association contributed more than $802,000 in affiliation fees to Labor between 1998-99 and 2000-01.

Arguments supporting banning Easter Sunday trading
1. Those working in retail have few trading free days
It has been noted that even with the Bracks Government's Public Holidays and Shop Trading Reform Acts (Amendment) Act 2003, restricting retail operations on Easter Sunday, there are only three and a half days in the year in which retailing in Victoria is limited in this way. These are Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and half of Anzac Day. The rest of the community has 11 days which have been designated as public holidays and upon which they are not required to work.
It has been noted that this is onerous for those working as employees in large retail outlets who may not have a choice as to whether they work on what for other people are holidays.
Michael Donovan, the state secretary of the Shop Distributive and allied Employees Association, has made this point. Mr Donovan has stated, 'While this [decision] might not be popular with senior executives of big retail outlets who don't work on Easter Sunday, it is overwhelmingly popular with ... employees and managers.'
Mr Leigh Hubbard, the secretary of the Victorian Trades Hall Council, has made a similar point. Mr Hubbard has argued that workers deserve a break. He has stated, 'Given that more than a third of workers work more than 50 hours a week, it's important that they take time off when they can.'

2. Other states ban Easter Sunday trading
The Minister for Small Business, Marsha Thomson, has stated, 'In the past Victoria has been the only state to allow Easter Sunday trading. There is a clear need for greater uniformity with other States [and] fairer employment conditions ...'
According to this line of argument there is nothing remarkable about the decision taken by the Brack's government to ban Easter Sunday trading. Rather, the supporters of this policy claim, it was Victoria's previous position on the question that was exceptional.
It has been argued that in the interests of making employment conditions more equitable Victorian workers employed in retail and hospitality should be able to have the same number of public holidays and non-trading days as their counterparts in other states.
Ms Thomson has indicated, 'Creating a public holiday on Easter Saturday will ... bring Victoria into line with other states. The number of public holidays will increase from 10 to 11, the same amount enjoyed by other Australians ... This decision is not a move to re-regulate shop trading hours, but is a targeted measure to reduce inconsistencies between states.'

3. Exceptions can be made to allow for special regional events scheduled for Easter Sunday
The Minister for Small Business, Marsha Thomson, has stated 'In special cases where there is a special event or festival the Government would consider applications from Municipal Councils to exempt a specified shop, class of shops or certain area from closing on Easter Sunday ... Long-standing events that are a big part of the Easter tradition for rural and regional Victoria, such as the Bells Beach Surf Pro competition and the Bendigo Easter Fair, will be able to seek an exemption.'
The State Government granted exceptions for the entire Surf Coast Shire, which includes the resort towns of Torquay, Anglesea and Lorne. Also exempt was Stawell in the Northern Grampians shire, which hosts the Stawell Gift foot race.
In the first year of operation of the new Easter Sunday trading rule exemptions were granted to 21 councils, principally to avoid adverse effects on tourist events that were important to regional economies.

4. Banning Easter Sunday trading is not a significant reduction of consumers' opportunities to shop
It has been argued that consumers do not have an unlimited capacity to spend and thus their readiness to spend is not simply determined by the availability of retail outlets on a given day. Rather it is determined by their needs and their disposable income. According to this line of argument, if consumers need and can afford products they are prevented from buying on Easter Sunday, they will either buy them on Easter Saturday or Easter Monday.
It has further been noted that there are very few items of such immediate importance that they have to be bought on a particular day, whether that day be Easter Sunday or any other. In a letter published in The Age on April 22, 2003, Mr Ron O'Toole noted, 'As for potential patrons who can't plan their shopping to miss one lousy day in 365, they really have to build a bridge.'
It has further been noted that, after the amendments moved by the Liberal Party, the legislation banning Easter Sunday trading now makes a significant number of exceptions to those retail premises that are prohibited from operating on Easter Sunday.
Under the terms of the Shop Trading Reform (Essential Goods Amendment) Act 2003 the original legislation was amended 'to allow chemists' shops, petrol shops and certain other shops selling essential goods to trade [on Easter Sunday] irrespective of the number of persons employed in the shops'. The intention of this amendment, supported by both major parties, was to ensure that consumers could still purchase certain vital items on Easter Sunday if it were necessary to make such an emergency purchase.

5. Banning Easter Sunday trading is unlikely to have a significant negative effect on business or the Victorian economy
It has been claimed that banning trading on Easter Sunday is unlikely to have a major impact on businesses or the Victorian economy. According to this line of argument, there are only three and a half days a year on which most retail outlets are closed - Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and half of Anzac Day. Given that retailers can trade for the other 361and a half days it is claimed that the Easter Sunday trading ban can hardly be significant.
There are those who have claimed that the apparent concern about an Easter Sunday trading ban has been exaggerated. In a letter published in The Age on April 22, 2003, Mr Ron O'Toole noted, 'The media beat-up about the Easter Sunday closure is nonsensical. One day closed and the world of the greedy retailers falls apart; if this is their greatest tragedy, they should sell up and move on.'
Further, as has already been noted, those regions for which Easter Sunday is a day of particular commercial significance can apply to have an exception made in their case.

6. The Bracks Government indicated that it would ban Easter Sunday trading in the last election campaign
The Bracks Government has indicated that it considers it has a mandate for declaring Easter Sunday a public holiday and banning most trading on that day.
In a media release issued on February 11, 2003, the Minister for Small Business, Marsha Thomson, said the Bracks Government was 'delivering on a key election policy commitment to make Easter Saturday a public holiday and Easter Sunday a non-trading day for shops'.
According to this line of argument, a majority of Victorians either supported this policy or were not sufficiently opposed to it for it to be a significant factor in determining how they voted.
It has further been noted that the Bracks Government did not need to consult the business community about its position on Easter trading as it had been one of its election policies. In a letter published in The Age on February 17, 2003, Kevin Russell contrasts the lack of consultation and prior warning that occurred when the former premier, Mr Kennett, made Easter Sunday a trading day. Mr Russell writes, 'Jeff Kennett abolished two public holidays, without reference to the people or the Parliament, and restricted substitute days as well. This within days of taking office - and not a whimper from the business community. When Steve Bracks legislates to restore the non-trading day status of Easter Sunday, in line with the rest of the country, he is pilloried for it. Where is the consistency?'

7. Banning Easter trading respects family life and Christian traditions
The Victorian premier, Mr Steve Bracks, has made this point. Mr Bracks has stated, '[Easter Sunday] is an important day in the calendar in Australia. It is an important day to observe I think for families around Australia. Our Christian tradition is one that I think has been upheld by all states in Australia.'
The Minister for Small Business, Marsha Thomson, told ABC radio that 'there are other things that people can do and should pursue in their lives to have fully rounded lives than just shop.'
Ms Thomson has also stated, 'It is the end of Victoria's good weather ... It is an opportunity to spend that time with family and friends ... so it's not just about religion.'
In a letter published in The Age on April 22, 2003, Mr Joe Ragnanese wrote, 'It is essential that we maintain the sacredness of some days. It is vital that we provide space for the soul. Within this space we can pause and attend to relationships; we can enjoy what we have (freedom, health, property, money etc); we can reflect on our lives and perhaps realise that the juggernaut, known as the economy, need not have total control of our world.'

Further implications
It is unlikely that the Bracks Government will revoke its legislation reinstating Easter Sunday as a public holiday and trading-free day. It made a commitment to do restore the Easter Sunday holiday during the election and this commitment is one that is important to many of its union supporters. However, for those employed in retail the benefit of the policy is questionable.
Those working in retail outlets do appear to be disadvantaged relative to the rest of the community. In terms of the times at which they might be required to work, it is obvious that there can be large demands placed on what for most of the rest community is free time. What is debatable, however, is the real value of adding one extra day on which they cannot be required to work.
Victoria still has the most liberal retail trading laws in Australia. There are now three and a half days, as opposed to the former two and a half days, on which retailers are prevented by law from opening around the clock. This probably has most impact on those working for large retailers, especially the major supermarket chains, which open for very extended hours. Until very recently Coles supermarkets were opening for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They have now joined Safeway and close at midnight.
The deregulation of retail trading hours has taken place at the same time as the workforce employed by many of the major retail outlets has become increasingly more part-time and casual. Many of those working in casual part-time positions are either students who fit their work in around their school/university hours or women returning part-time to the workforce. People working in this manner are not the fulltime workforce that supporters of an Easter Sunday trading ban seek to given a compulsory break.
Even for those in fulltime employment in the retail industry, it is debatable whether being given one day's additional holiday a year would constitute much of a respite.
It is difficult not to conclude that so far as the retail sector is concerned, the horse has well and truly bolted. We may not need to shop as often as we do, but there is clearly a well-established belief that freedom to shop through weekends and late into the night is a consumer right. So far as the large retailers are concerned, they will only cut back on their trading opportunities when extending hours does not seem sufficiently profitable. It would appear to be profit margins, rather than concern for workers' leisure opportunities that led Coles recently to cut back its trading hours.
Where the Easter Sunday public holiday does appear to have been an advantage is for those in fulltime employment who could accrue rostered days off and combine them with the Easter public holidays and the Anzac Day holiday to give them a week's paid holiday during the second half of their children's school holidays. For those in casual, part-time work, there may have been a day off, but it was not paid.
Finally, it is doubtful that the bun fight is over. The need for retailers to apply to the minister to be granted an exemption allowing them to trade on Easter Sunday will keep the issue alive and irritating.
Sources
The Age
12/2/03 page 1 news item by Richard Baker, 'Easter closure angers retailers'
13/2/03 page 6 news item by Richard Baker, 'Bracks' Easter shopping ban lashed by Kennett'
15/2/03 page 6 (Insight) editorial, 'How we live is not for politicians to decide'
17/2/03 page 10 letter from Stephanie Omizzolo, 'Easter trading'
17/2/03 page 10 letter Kevin Russell, 'Double standard'
6/3/03 page 6 news item by Lyall Johnson, 'Rebel trader gets ready for another battle'
2/4/03 page 8 news item by Darren Gray, 'Reprieve on Easter trading ban'
11/4/03 page 13 news item by Larissa Dubecki, 'Easter trading widened'
19//4/03 page 5, news item by Richard Baker and Jamie Berry, 'Monitoring shops "not police work"'
21/4/03 page 3, news item by Darren Gray, 'Retail ban costs "tens of millions"'
21/4/03 page 3, news item by Julie Szego, 'Business as usual for rebel trader'
21/4/03 page 8, editorial, '"Non-trading" Easter Sunday is a farce'
22/4/03 page 10, letter from Phillip Lyons, 'Taking us back to the dark ages'
22/4/03 page 10, letter from Joe Ragnanese, 'Space for the soul'
22/4/03 page 10, letter from Dominic Cornwell, 'It makes no sense'
22/4/03 page 10, letter from Ron O'Toole, 'One day in 365'
22/4/03 page 10, letter from Susan Merrick, 'This is a "tragedy"?'

The Australian
22/4/03 page 11, comment by Alan Wood, 'Little joy in restrictions on retailers'

The Herald Sun
16/4/03 page 16, news item by Jeremy Calvert, 'Easter shopping hours confusion'
18/4/03 page 9, news item by Danny Buttler, 'Thin blue line stretched'
19/4/03 page 5, news item by Jeremy Calvert, 'Storm in a coffee house'
21/4/03 page 7, news item by Jeremy Calvert, 'Food chains defy law'
23/4/03 page 11, news item by Susie O'Brien, 'Workers put their feet up'