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Fe rates legol

Retail Trading on Boxing Day Why the costs far outweigh the benefits of retail trading on the Boxing Day public holiday

MARCH 2016

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About the McKell Institute The McKell Institute is an independent, not-for-profit, public policy institute dedicated to developing practical policy ideas and contributing to public debate. The McKell Institute takes its name from New South Wales’ wartime Premier and Governor–General of Australia, William McKell.

William McKell made a powerful contribution to both New South Wales and Australian society through significant social, economic and environmental reforms.

For more information phone (02) 9113 0944 or visit www.mckellinstitute.org.au

Background This report has been commissioned by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association. The authors of this paper have utilised a range of publicly available information and our own analysis in compiling this paper.

Note The opinions in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the McKell Institute’s members, affiliates, individual board members or research committee members. Any remaining errors or omissions are the responsibility of the authors.

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Contents Introduction .............................................................................................. 7

Part One: Background .................................................................................... 8

Deregulating Boxing Day Trading in New South Wales .......................................................... 8

Public Holiday Trading in Australia ......................................................................................... 8

Table 1: Retail trading hours restrictions in Australia ...................................................................... 8

The arguments for and against public holiday retail trading .................................................. 9

Graph 1: Retail Workers in Australian States, Census 1996-2011. ................................................ 10 Part Two: Examining the Facts .......................................................................... 12

The case of Victoria .............................................................................................................. 12

Graph 2: December Retail Sales Per Capita, 2015 dollars .............................................................. 13

New South Wales retail trade .............................................................................................. 13

Deregulating Boxing Day opening hours has had little effect on December sales ............... 13

Graph 3: Growth in Retail Sales December 2014-2015 .................................................................. 14 Graph 4: Sales Growth from 2014-2015 by Month, Adjusted for Inflation .................................... 14 Graph 5: NSW and Australian December Retail Sales Per Capita, in 2015 dollars ......................... 15 Graph 6: NSW Retail Trade Growth, 1995-2015, Adjusted for Inflation ........................................ 15 Graph 7: Retail Sales Growth across Australia in 2015, Adjusted for Inflation .............................. 16

Economic arguments for public holiday trading are weak ................................................... 16

What New South Wales residents really want ..................................................................... 17

Table 2: Importance of activities on Boxing Day ............................................................................ 18 Conclusion ............................................................................................... 19

Methodology ............................................................................................ 20

References ............................................................................................... 21

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Introduction

On 26th December 2015, retail stores across the state of New South Wales were allowed to open for

the first time. Previously, only certain exempted stores were permitted to open on the Boxing Day

public holiday.

Already New South Wales has some of the most liberal regulations on retail trading: stores are

permitted to determine their own trading hours during normal weekdays and weekends. Retail

trade is now only restricted on 3.5 public holidays per year.

Proponents stress a variety of economic benefits to retail trading on public holidays, however,

McKell Institute analysis has found them lacking. The most often cited argument in favour of public

holiday trading is that overall sales will increase. Using the latest data available from the Australian

Bureau of Statistics, it is clear that for December 2015, retail trade was not improved by

deregulation of retail trading on Boxing Day.

McKell analysis found that growth in New South Wales was 1.2 percentage points less in December

2015 than in the same month in 2014. Additionally, retail trade did not grow faster in December

than the average annual growth rate for 2015.

Compared to other states, the month of December was disappointing for New South Wales retailers:

NSW recorded the highest annual growth for the year, but two other states grew more quickly in

December. Further, taking into account consumer confidence, McKell found that the retail sector

performed well below expectation in December considering 2015 was a good year for retail as a

whole.

While the economic arguments fail to live up to hype, the social costs to retail workers for working

on public holidays are real. Work-life balance and spending time with family and friends are

negatively affected by increased retail trade on public holidays.

Research conducted in January 2016 further supports the notion that Australians value their public

holidays and would overwhelmingly prefer to spend time relaxing and socialising with family and

friends on Boxing Day, rather than working or spending time shopping. New South Wales residents

generally think it unimportant for most retail stores to be open on Boxing Day.

The McKell Institute recommends the Government re-examines the social and economic impacts of

Boxing Day retail trading, in order to properly assess the impact deregulated trading hours has on

the New South Wales community.

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Part One: Background

Deregulating Boxing Day Trading in New South Wales

The Retail Trading Act 2008 regulates which retail stores may open and when in New South Wales.

Retail stores in New South Wales are permitted to open for almost 99 per cent of all days of the

year, exempting Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and ANZAC Day before 1pm. Until

recently, Boxing Day was also designated a restricted trading day under this legislation.

In November 2015, the Baird Government announced that retail outlets in New South Wales would

be free to open on Boxing Day. Previously, legislation restricted many retail stores from opening

outside of selected ‘tourist precincts,’ such as the Sydney CBD and Bondi. After many years of calls

to the Government to update the laws, including most recently in the Competition Policy Review

(Harper Review), the NSW upper house passed legislation deregulating trading on Boxing Day.

December 26th, 2015 was the first Boxing Day when all retailers across the state could open if they

so wished.

Accompanying the new Boxing Day exemption was the stipulation that “all persons working in the

shop freely elect to do so without any coercion, harassment, threat or intimidation by or on behalf

of the occupier of the shop. Merely rostering a person to work on the day does not mean that they

have freely elected to work.”i Fines of up to $11,000 per employee are applicable to those

businesses found to have engaged in coercion in order to open on the public holiday. Penalty rates

are also still applicable on Boxing Day.

Public Holiday Trading in Australia Every state and territory in Australia has different laws relating to retail trading opening hours. The

ACT and the Northern Territory possess the most liberal laws; and Victoria, Tasmania and New South

Wales only restrict trading on main public holidays. South Australia, Western Australia and

Queensland still differentiate between metropolitan shopping districts and regional/rural areas in

order to determine which businesses may open, and when.

Table 1: Retail trading hours restrictions in Australia

Jurisdiction Monday to Friday

Saturday Sunday Public Holidays

Australian Capital Territory

No restrictions No restrictions No restrictions No restrictions

Northern Territory

No restrictions No restrictions No restrictions No restrictions

Victoria No restrictions No restrictions No restrictions 2.5 restricted days: Good Friday, ANZAC Day (before 1pm), Christmas Day

Tasmania No restrictions No restrictions No restrictions 2.5 restricted days: Good Friday, ANZAC Day (before 1pm), Christmas Day

New South Wales

No restrictions No restrictions No restrictions

4.5 restricted days: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, ANZAC Day (before 1pm), Christmas Day, Boxing Day

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South Australia

Adelaide CBD Until 9pm Until 5pm 11am-5pm 2.5 restricted days: Good Friday, ANZAC Day (before 1pm), Christmas Day

Metro Area Until 9pm Until 5pm 11am-5pm 10 restricted days (all public holidays except Easter Saturday)

Proclaimed shopping districts

Until 6pm Until 5pm Closed 11 restricted days (all public holidays)

Western Australia

Perth city and south

8am-9pm 8am-5pm 11am-5pm

3 restricted days: Good Friday, ANZAC Day, Christmas Day, 11am-5pm on other public holidays

Rest of WA No restrictions No restrictions No restrictions No restrictions

Queensland

SE QLD 8am-9pm 8am-5pm 9am-6pm 5 restricted day: Good Friday, ANZAC Day, Labour Day, Christmas Day

Selected towns and tourist centres

8am-9pm 8am-5p.30pm 9am-6pm

4 restricted days: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, ANZAC Day, Labour Day, Christmas Day

Rest of QLD 8am-9pm 8am-5pm Closed 11 restricted days (all public holidays except Easter Saturday)

Source: CCIQ 2014ii

In 2015 the Harper Review recommended that all the states and territories should deregulate retail

trading hours to align with the laws in Victoria and Tasmania; that is, to only restrict retail stores

from opening on Christmas Day, Good Friday, and for half of ANZAC Day. The Harper Review

suggested that government regulation was outdated and individual retailers knew better whether

they should open on public holidays or not, according to customer demand.

The arguments for and against public holiday retail trading Proponents for allowing retail trading on public holidays present arguments in three main

categories: that extended retail trading hours will provide greater freedom for consumers and

retailers; an increase in competition; and an increase in retail activity and employment.

While the arguments around greater choice for consumers and shop owners are self-evident, the

economic benefits of extended trading hours are precarious at best.

In 1996, Victoria deregulated shop trading hours so that there are now no restrictions throughout a

normal week, and the only days that were restricted were Good Friday, ANZAC Day (before 1pm);

and Christmas Day.

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Two separate studies in 1998 and 2000 found that retail trading was boosted by extended trading

hours in Victoria.iii However, McKell Institute analysis has found that the surge in retail trade in the

three years following deregulation of shop trading hours was short-lived; and retail trade has grown

at a steady and comparable rate to NSW and the rest of Australia since 2000.

Retail trade employment tells a similar story. Employment in retail trade grew from the 1996 census

to a high in 2006; but across the nation retail trade employment fell since then according to the

most recent census data from 2011. Fluctuations in retail employment seem to be attributable to

factors that influence the nation as a whole, rather than due to the individual policy choices of states

and territories.

Graph 1: Retail Workers in Australian States, Census 1996-2011.

The argument for an increase in competition relates largely to the economic principle that the

market knows best: allowing the market to guide retailers on when they should open their shop

doors. Large retailers based in areas other than the Sydney CBD argued that they were

disadvantaged by not being able to open on Boxing Day, as shoppers would instead head into the

city to shop, or shop at smaller boutiques and stores that were exempt under the trading

regulations. In more recent years, sales conducted by online retail outlets started to compete with

‘bricks and mortar’ retail stores for consumer dollars. However, by deregulating retail trade,

competition could in fact be decreased amongst retailers. Smaller retailers, especially those not

situated in large shopping malls, could lose sales to the larger retailers due to the lifting of

restrictions.

“There is concern that deregulation will lead to…increased market

dominance of the major retailers with consumers eventually having less

choice in the longer term.”iv

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

1996 2001 2006 2011

Retail Workers in Australian States, Census 1996-2011

NSW VIC QLD SA WA

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On the opposing side to longer retail trading hours are those who are worried about the work-life

balance of retail workers: retail workers are some of the lowest paid workers in Australia, and

already work an array of unsociable hours in order to keep shops open throughout the week. Retail

workers, some argue, deserve time off with their families on public holidays, and particularly during

Christmas, as much as other Australians.

“With respect, the inconvenience experienced by those in the community

who do enjoy their weekends and public holidays off work when they

cannot crawl suburban shopping malls to buy more stuff on four and (a)

half days of the year out of 365, is inconsequential when compared with the

inconvenience of the retail worker who misses Christmas celebrations with

the family because she is called in to stack shelves and price sale items on

Christmas Day for the Boxing Day sales.” - Dr Joellen Rileyv

In addition, although there are provisions to ensure retail workers are not forced to work on public

holidays, many workers will feel pressured nonetheless.

The new regulations state that employees cannot be coerced or forced to work on any public

holiday, and must ‘freely elect to work on a restricted day without coercion, harassment, threat or

intimidation by or on behalf of the shop owner,’vi however, for those employees who rely on their

retail job for their livelihood, the likelihood that they could refuse to work on one of the busiest days

of the retail year and not feel worried about losing their jobs or hours as a result, is low.vii

In short, opponents contend that deregulation negatively affects some of the most disadvantaged

Australians, to no real benefit of the rest of Australia.

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Part Two: Examining the Facts

The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases data on a monthly basis that estimates total retail trade

turnover for Australian states and territories. Analysis of this data allows us to determine the effect

of policies on retail trade sales for the previous three decades.

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, most Australian states and territories updated their laws to

reflect a changing retail landscape, thereby allowing retailers to trade for longer hours during the

week, on weekends, and on some public holidays. This change reflected the shift in consumer

demand to shop for many retail goods and services at times outside of the traditional working week.

By examining the ABS data, we can determine the effect longer trading hours have had on overall

retail trade volumes. The following section contains case studies of Victoria and NSW.

The case of Victoria In 1996 the Victorian Government deregulated retail trading hours to allow unrestricted trade seven

days a week, and minimal prohibitions on public holidays, which, under the Act, did not include

Boxing Day. All retail stores were hence allowed to open on Boxing Day under the Shop Trading

Reform Act 1996 (Vic).

From 1996-1999, growth in Victoria’s retail sector out-performed both the national and NSW retail

sales growth for the month of December, as well as on annual growth. Two studies conducted in

1998 and 2000 quantified the immediate impact of the deregulated shop trading hours on sales

growth, which was substantial. These studies are still used today as evidence for the argument in

favour of deregulation of retail trading hours elsewhere in Australia.

Much has been made about the increase in retail sales following the deregulation of retail trading

hours in Victoria in 1996. However, as the deregulation included the lifting of weekly restrictions, as

well as removing restrictions on certain public holidays, it is difficult to quantify the effect of Boxing

Day trading on overall sales.

Looking at longer term data, we can see that in the 13 years prior to 1996, Victorian retail sales

lagged New South Wales retail sales figures. From 1996-1999, there was a sharp increase in retail

sales, which can be attributed at least in part to Victorian sales ‘catching up’ to the rest of the nation

following deregulation.

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Graph 2: December Retail Sales Per Capita, 2015 dollars

New South Wales retail trade

New South Wales has taken a more staggered approach to the deregulation of shop trading hours. In

1992, Sunday trading was regulated for, although mainly only small retailers were permitted to

open. Over the following years, exemptions have been made for certain types of businesses, and

larger retailers were given the opportunity to apply for exemptions. Almost all exemptions were

permitted without further inquiry.viii In 2008, the NSW government further deregulated Sunday

trading to allow all retailers to determine their own trading hours on weekends.

Analysis has been conducted on the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest retail sales data for

December 2015 in order to determine the effect relaxed trading restrictions had for the month of

December on overall retail sales. If the sales on Boxing Day across the state were extra sales (and not

sales that would usually be deferred until the next normal working day), then we would witness a

spike in retail sales for the month of December.

The data has been analysed in two main ways: comparing the month of December sales data to

previous years, to annual growth, and to other states and national data, controlling for inflation and

population growth; as well as analysing the ‘December bonus’ of retail sales (growth between

November and December), from 1993-2015 in NSW, controlling for consumer confidence.

Deregulating Boxing Day opening hours has had little effect on December sales

Examining the most recent data, growth in December retail trade in New South Wales fell from

2014. By comparison, retail trade grew faster in four Australian states and across the nation in 2015

than it did in 2014.

$900.00

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$1,400.00

$1,500.001

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December retail sales per capita, 2015 dollars

NSW VIC

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Graph 3: Growth in Retail Sales December 2014-2015

Note: Figures are adjusted for inflation and are calculated based on total sales volume growth from the

previous year.

In a month-to-month comparison between 2014 and 2015, the month of December grew at about

the same rate (3.76 per cent) as annual growth (3.55 per cent). June was the best month of 2015 for

retail sales growth (5.26 per cent).

Graph 4: Sales Growth from 2014-2015 by Month, Adjusted for Inflation

The ABS data revealed that over the previous thirty years, per capita December retail turnover

figures for New South Wales have not varied too broadly from fluctuations in national retail growth.

-1.0%

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT AUS

Growth in retail sales December 2014-2015

2015 2014

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4.00

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6.00

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

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Sales Growth from 2014-2015 by month, adjusted for inflation

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The variation between national and NSW data that can be seen below is not statistically significant in

order to draw inferences.

Graph 5: NSW and Australian December Retail Sales Per Capita, in 2015 dollars

In New South Wales, December growth has shadowed annual retail sales growth since at least 2003,

and the data for 2015 is no different.

Graph 6: NSW Retail Trade Growth, 1995-2015, Adjusted for Inflation

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NSW and Australian December retail sales per capita, in 2015 dollars

NSW AUS

-4.00%

-2.00%

0.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

14.00%

16.00%

NSW Retail Trade Growth 1995-2015, adjusted for Inflation

Annual Growth December Growth

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In 2015, New South Wales recorded the highest annual retail trade growth for all of Australia,

however, growth in the month of December was lower than both the ACT and Victoria.

Graph 7: Retail Sales Growth across Australia in 2015, Adjusted for Inflation

Additional economic analysis of the New South Wales December figures for 2015 took into account

consumer confidence. 2015 was a good year for consumer confidence in the retail industry, and this

was reflected by high growth across the nation. However, this analysis revealed that December’s

retail sales were slightly lower than we could have expected in New South Wales, given the increase

in consumer confidence in 2015.

If the relaxation of restrictions on retail trading on Boxing Day had any effect on overall sales for the

month of December, we will have witnessed a spike in the sales data for the month in NSW.

However, on all indicators it appears that retail sales were not affected by the additional trading day

across the state. This means that purchases usually delayed until the 27th or 28th December, instead

were spread across more days including 26th December.

The data indicates that there was no effect on retail sales for the month of December due to an

extra trading day.

Economic arguments for public holiday trading are weak Analysis of data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that economic arguments

advocating for retail trading on public holidays are weak.

While Victoria clearly benefitted by sweeping reforms to retail trading regulation in 1996, those

benefits were short-lived, and were experienced largely due to weekday and weekend trading

changes, rather than changes to public holiday opening hours.

-1.00%

1.00%

3.00%

5.00%

7.00%

NSW VIC QLD SA WA TAS NT ACT National

Retail Sales Growth across Australia in 2015, adjusted for Inflation

Annual Growth December Growth

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New South Wales has taken a more staggered approach to deregulating retail trading hours, and has

benefitted from economic growth similar to or higher than the national average for the past thirty

years. In fact, Victoria’s spike in retail sales growth in the late 1990s could also be attributed to a

‘catch up’ with New South Wales and the national average.

Given that New South Wales already has mostly deregulated retail trading hours, Boxing Day 2015

presented a perfect case study in examining the arguments for trading on public holidays. All

analysis conducted indicated that customers did not purchase more than they usually would have

because Boxing Day was now open to all retailers: in fact, December as a month was slightly

disappointing for retailers across the state.

The other argument used by advocates for less government regulation in retail trading hours is the

idea that a higher quantity of opening hours will lead to more jobs in the retail sector. As was shown

in part one above, the total number of retail workers across Australia has been determined by

factors applicable Australia-wide, rather than policies implemented in any one state or territory. The

total number of retail workers in Australia had fallen at the previous census, down from a high in

2006.

What New South Wales residents really want In early January 2016, Essential Media conducted poll research on the activities and opinions of New

South Wales residents regarding Boxing Day.ix As can be expected, the majority of New South Wales

residents preferred spending time relaxing or socialising with family and friends on Boxing Day. In

2015, about 35 per cent of respondents reported they went shopping, as compared to 26 per cent

on Boxing Day 2014. Total attendance at post-Christmas sales for New South Wales residents was 55

per cent.

When asked what they would most like to do on Boxing Day in 2016, overwhelmingly respondents

indicated they would prefer to spend time with family or friends, relaxing, watching the cricket or

sailing, or go to the beach. Going shopping was the 6th most chosen activity at 22 per cent.

The retail industry often cites the Boxing Day sales, centred on department and fashion stores, as

the primary reason for needing retail trading on Boxing Day. However, when asked how important it

is for stores to be open on Boxing Day, the majority of respondents did not think it was important for

department stores (41 per cent), clothing stores (34 per cent) and shoe shops (24 per cent) to be

open. Whilst the majority of respondents thought it was important that pharmacies could open they

were already able to open due to existing exemptions. Sydney residents were more likely to think it

important that shops be open on Boxing Day than their rural counterparts.

Conversely, a total of 89 per cent of residents think that it is important that Australians get a two day

break over the Christmas period; whereas only 9 per cent of respondents thought it was

unimportant.

Forty per cent of retail workers worked on Boxing Day 2015, as compared to just 6 per cent of all

workers. Of those who worked on Boxing Day in 2015, only 25 per cent said they would like to work

again on Boxing Day in 2016. 55 per cent would prefer to spend time with family, and 52 per cent

would prefer to just relax.

The poll results reflect the attitudes of Australians towards holidays, free time and shopping. While

more respondents reported shopping on Boxing Day in 2015 than in 2014, a majority of respondents

reported that spending time relaxing and socialising with family and friends is the most important

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activity to be performed on Boxing Day. Respondents thought it was generally unimportant for retail

stores other than supermarkets and pharmacies to be open. The most important three activities

reported were spending time with family, just relaxing, and spending time with friends. Shopping

came in a distant fourth place, equal with watching the cricket on TV.

Table 2: Importance of activities on Boxing Day Q. And thinking about what you like to do on Boxing Day, please rank the following Boxing Day activities in order of their importance to you personally – where 1 is the most important, 2 the second, etc.

1 2 3 4 5 6 Total ranked 1-3

Spending time with family 55% 24% 13% 4% 3% 2% 92%

Just relaxing 28% 29% 27% 11% 4% 1% 84%

Spending time with friends 7% 35% 36% 17% 4% 2% 78%

Shopping 5% 5% 9% 27% 28% 26% 19%

Watching cricket on TV 5% 5% 9% 16% 19% 47% 19%

Helping a charity 1% 2% 6% 26% 42% 23% 9% Source: Essential Mediax

These poll results indicate that in general, New South Wales residents do not really care if shops are

open on Boxing Day or not. The most valued activity on this day was the ability to relax with family

and friends. While more people took advantage of the open shops than in 2014, the total spend for

the period was not increased due to the extra trading day. In addition, retail workers

overwhelmingly would prefer to have Boxing Day off from work, to enjoy the public holiday along

with their friends and family.

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Conclusion

Analysis of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals that the economic arguments for

the deregulation of retail trading on public holidays is weak. There was no real change in retail sales

in December 2015 due to the policy change enacted allowing retailers to trade on Boxing Day.

On the other hand, the disadvantage experienced by retail workers called into stores on Christmas

Day and Boxing Day is real. Work-life balance of these workers is negatively affected by allowing

retailers to open on more public holidays.

The attitudes of New South Wales residents reflect the high value that Australians place on relaxing

and being social on public holidays, rather than working or shopping. Most respondents think that it

is unimportant for most retail stores to be open on the Boxing Day public holiday, and would be

unaffected if they weren’t.

Policymakers in New South Wales must ask themselves: are they willing to further disadvantage

some of Australia’s lowest paid workers in order to allow shops to open for one more day of the

year, to no clear benefit to anyone involved?

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Methodology

The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases retail trade turnover data on a monthly basis for all of

the states and territories in Australia, as well as national figures. 8501.0 – Retail Trade, Australia, Dec

2015, Table 3 data was used to calculate growth for each of the states and territories and national

figures on an annual basis, as well as from December to December.

Original figures have been used so as to measure the spike in retail sales during the

Christmas holiday period. Trend and seasonally-adjusted figures would distort this

measurement.

Original figures were used to calculate sales figures in 2015 dollars (ie. accounting for

inflation), in order to accurately show growth over a period of up to 30 years.

Data was then compared against population growth in order to account for what change in

retail sales was simply a matter of a larger population, and what policy changes made a

difference to retail sales.

The per capita data in 2015 dollars was then used to compare the sales figures of different

months in New South Wales in 2014 and 2015; to compare annual growth against the

growth in the month of December in New South Wales across a period of years; and to

compare annual growth against December growth in the different states and territories of

Australia in 2015.

Separate analysis was conducted to account for consumer confidence in 2015, to determine

if December 2015 was a particularly good month for retail sales. Accounting for the boost

that consumer confidence gave to the industry in 2015, December 2015 was not a

particularly good month for retail.

If the relaxation of the Boxing Day public holiday trading restrictions were to have any effect on total

retail sales for the month of December, we would be able to see that effect in the sales figures for

the year that the restrictions were lifted. This would be experienced through a boost in sales data for

the month of December 2015, when compared to other states, and the month of December in

previous years. The data did not indicate any change to retail sales for December 2015.

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References

i NSW Government Industrial Relations, Boxing Day Exemption – Section 8A of the Retail Trading Act 2008. Viewed 23 February 2016: http://www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au/oirwww/Industries_and_Awards/Retail_industry/Boxing _Day_Exemption.page? ii Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland, Queensland Shop Trading Hours, September 2014. Viewed 11 Feb 2016: https://www.cciq.com.au/assets/Documents/Advocacy/Blueprints/Shop-trading-hours-print-final120914.pdf iii Tracey Atkins, Shop Trading Hours in Western Australia: A legal, social and economic analysis of shop trading hours in Western Australia, The University of Western Australia, November 2011.

iv Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland, Queensland Shop Trading Hours, September 2014. Viewed 11 Feb 2016: https://www.cciq.com.au/assets/Documents/Advocacy/Blueprints/Shop-trading-hours-print-

final120914.pdf, p.3. v Australian Government Productivity Commission, Economic Structure and Performance of the Australian Retail Industry: Productivity Commission Inquiry Report, No. 56, 4 November 2011. Viewed 23 February 2016: http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/retail-industry/report/retail-industry.pdf, p.277. vi Australian Retailers Association, Christmas Public Holiday Circular 2015/2016, National Summary, November 2015. Viewed 23 February 2016: http://www.scca.org.au/wp-

content/uploads/2015/11/Public-Holiday-CHRISTMAS-2015-2016.pdf

vii Mohamed Taha and Lucy McNally, ‘Boxing day sales: Shoppers hit stores in search for bargains; retailers expecting $2.3 billion to be spent,’ ABC News, 26 December 2015.

viii Australian National Retailers Association, Submission to The New South Wales Government Better Regulation Office on Reform of Shop Trading Hours in NSW, October 2007. Viewed 23 February 2016:

ix Andrew Bunn, SDA NSW and Newcastle Boxing Day Poll 2015, Essential Media, 20 January 2016. x Andrew Bunn, SDA NSW and Newcastle Boxing Day Poll 2015, Essential Media, 20 January 2016, p.11.