Building Owners and managers Association of Australia Limited (Queensland Division) v Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association (Industrial Organisation of Employers) and Others [1996] QIRC 824 (1997) 154 QGIG 16

16 QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT l;>-;Dl:STRlAL GAZETTE 3 January, 1997 QUEEt\SLAr>,;D !l':DUSTRlAL RfLATlONS COMlvl!SS!UN Tnulin:,.:, (Al!o}vublc }Joun.) Au JY 1AJ :,.: ) l - 3ppl1ca11on for\ arlatlon Hwldinu: Owners and iv1antlg..:1:-. As\ocialion "-J Australia LirniteJ , (Qm:ensland Division, Queensland Ketwl lrader\ and Shopk(.';epcr:-.. As~ociatiun !lnriustria! Orpnization of Emrloyers) and Uthcrs CHIEF !NDllSTRIAL COMMISSIONER HALL COMMISSIONERS EDW -'\RDS A"-D FiSHER /\pplicanon m Vary Trading Hour, Onkr - Non Exempt Shop, Trading hy R 2 ni! - Srate Easter Saturday -- Bn,ham: ln<l1stmgu1shahie frnn, test r,1 Qucc1t,lanJ - Application G,antcd from Er,,tr'r ! 998 DECISION On 21 December l 995, o~ the applirntion of the Retrulen; Association of Quei.:m,land Limited, Union of Employns. the Queen,land Industrial RelufrJlb Cnmrnission set new aHov-;able. hour'-- for Easter Satt1rdf1y 1rad1:1g ln t.hat fhU1 of Brisbane ~d near '.\1cr.ropoHtan _1\rea (outside the are::t nf C1!y Hcmi I winch dtffored frum the ex1sung hour,,. The c,xistin,; hours were g .15 urn to I pm The eflect of the decision was that a; frum Easte1 1996 shops nughi open ;_it 8 nm ~t:a l pm r:nd that ~r: fruru Easter of I 99~1 they nnght open t1orn g an:1 to S pm Trading 1hroughout substantially the whok uf lht.: JayligfH hour:. on E:bter <:atmJav hw, of course hng smce heen allowed m !he ke; tourist ;,uu.1s of the n,t~bmie CBi\ th( Gold Co:1s;;t nnd Strn\hine C'\nst N0 atten1pt has bec,n made to fiuw on thct! pm,iHrni to other ,tlC,b d the Slate Nor could ;my t"!Hempl \t~nsih!y have te~':n rnade. rht~ rck:vant orDcr~ h:v-.:e been n1adc in· reEanc,~ upt)P tho(,e pnJ\'1s!ons of rhc T,·adin{! (A!/n'tvuhfe Hours) Act J91)0, vlz ~~- J(e) and 26(b )and The are<ls \Vi thin v:hich the order~ 0 perMe<l Vvere dearly d1stiniwi~hubk from the re:... ! vf ;.he sc1tc. -~~c crd,..-r \)f '.' I !)ecember 1995 cannot he so confmed. Douhtlcsc. there are visitors lo llie !3r:sb:m~ ,,kt;opo'iwn Area mw,idc the CB!)_ but the tou•·ist n1dustrv is not the kev to the econorn)' of tho~e ;,:m:&·,, and tho:-e a:e;-1."> arc not crucial to the '-Ucce;~ of ihe. 1oun~t industry. impurtanUy, the Coum1l~... l(;n did fiO\. U.'-'.-.crt th.:n 1h:: <le-:::i~lon -.,,v~s hased upon 1he need:- of tourists or 1our.i:-.n1. The Jci..:l'.,irni ;vus pur cm the btt..;is; thnt dosure of non-exefftfl[ '.'>hops on Good Friduv. E;t..;ter Sah.irday" Ea.,ter Sund.1; anU E:L-.;11:r \1onday cDu~cd umgt;5:tlcm an<l undue checkout pre,ssure rn supet11mrk0t~ Sdlmg hw:ii.b,tuffs. Tlv: fm1!ct:r limb te the ~rgumcnl was thc1! m those c,rcurnstances, the re~if;';ir1us signifo..:ru,cc 21.rgmrn:nt h~i.vlng fail1;:;d :Jt !he roint when: half day tratiing v,,.,as oiiowcu, Eask~r S,JturJn.:r :,huuld be. trc.1wd !:kt.- J .. n; ,.)the: S~tl'r~lay (save th~ S:1rurdav on which ChrbmHts Day fall,) lt \>ZL, jncvit:::tbL· tha: ,n aW!mpt wrn.:ld ~ rn~~cte H• fl,;w that dec1.s1on on the re::.t 01 iht:· Sl.J.1~ On 3 Augu'.: 109(;_ tbe Bu.iidfog ?\a.·rn:r~ anrl '.V1~nagers Assocmt1on of Australi;.i Li1rnteD \QaeeHst.tnJ Divi,:.;icn) Dkd \\Jlh th;.:· lmil:slri~.l Registrnr an anp!tcatron the effect of ,vhidi W<L' iO pern,it lmding on Eas,ter Salur,fay between 8 arn ~nd 5 pm throughout the whole of the State. The basb ol the appiici.tliun w:1s the Je,j~ic,r: of') I December l 9'15 \Vt· have dccldcd to grant the application. The apph1.:am'.~ evidence J.bout corn:::estion. over-cro\:vding. chcck0ut pre.;sure and ½tress, it anythin,?!, goe~ bevo~d the -1:·vidence ied in the nppiicution reiatmg if) the Bn~ha.ni: anJ Near ;vic-;tropolitan Arez: Thoc;e vvho oppo-.c the gnmt. of the applicauon hav~ bet:n unable to put in evidence any mat::1~al a~ ~p \vh1ch '-Vnuld d1slm.£u1sh those arem, of the ,talc out.,idc the Bn,,lxill..: ,mJ Ne;,r MetrnpelHan Are'.\ frnm the remain<l~r nf the State or lo ,ugge>l tha! there tue addiiitm:..d factors outsid2 rhnt area •..vhich rnlght \varrant the settmg: of difkrcm hour,. Ji is true that :radiDg on E;1.skr S;,turday ha, not been aliowed on a haif day basis thrm,ghoUI lhc: whole of the Stale. But no ,nateria' h:1s been plact'd hefnre us 10 suggest that religious sensitivity i, an i'.'\~Ue of i;reJ.li..:r imp,Jrtaw::e out'.:;ide the Rrishane and Near !\1etropo'1Han Area. and it i::; inhen:ntly irnprobabk thm 1t is, ln ;..iny r,;V•tiflt, we ccn::-:idcr Hnt it ,voulct he contrary to the public interest to sei. abuul the buslrn,;s_., u1 de\:eiop1ng v. patchwPrk quilt of trncfo1g honr~ to match the reiigiou~ view.:,; of tho:~e of punicl.dt]..r geographi,,; ae:1s 2'.'l 49_' .DOC :,, Januarv, 1997 QCEENSLAND GOVERNMENT INDUSTRIAL GAZETfE Thii-: de..:.:i•,io:: i~ d-:!livcrf·d at :1ppr0xim::udy the ,;;arne tin1e 0f the year as th<" decision of 2 l December l 995 Thal de~ision did not lnlroduce the new trnrling hours at the next !::aster celebration. It mtroduccd ihe new trading how,, fr,,m the 1997 E,cster celebrauon. Consi~tcnt w!lh that dcc1s10n we proposl. to introduce the nt:v:_·_ tn:rding houn· outside Brisbane anrl near rnetiopo!iwn an~a a.... w1U f10B) Ea:~tcr 0f l 998. To do 1Jtherwisc would cause ,,ig-nific'.l.nt a~d undue hardship to smc1ll trnJers who have shown the fore,ight l() ph:.n ;th?.:.v1 n.nd (~rtler ';tock. On 9 Sep1emoe1 l 9')6 the Towmilie Smull Business Action Group wrote w ,h,, Registrar reguinng the views of their organisation be relayed to ,he Ful: Brnch. Follnwing verbal communication rhe President of the rc:i\vn~\,j!]e SmaH Bu:,ine;,:;; Attion Group advised hi;; organi~at!on did not wish to prodoce witne:sses rmd c'.idern..:e in Town:;viHe and \vou)d rdy solely 0n the material pn:viousiy forwarded to the Commi.s.sion. As the urganisatiori chest· not t0 he represented at the hearing nor to appear should a hearing be ..,.onv,.;ncd in Towns\-llle, arrangenients were mad,, for th? Regi,;trar to provide a copy of the transcript. D.R. HALL Chief !ndustnal Commissioner. K.L, ED\V ARDS, C0mmissioner GK FISHER, Clrr:nw,sioner Vlr R. Livingstone, (of Li,ingstr>nes (Australia)) r>n behalf of the Building Own~r,-: ;JJ1J '.VbnJger, Association of Au-,tralia Limited (Queensland Divi,10111. '·MR. Walk:.:r lor the Retailers· Associmion of Queensland Limited, Union uf Ernp1oye::, fl.1r R Swain for the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers A,,,;ociation !lndustnal Organization of Employers) M, U Arnold for the Nauonal Meat Assoc;auon of Ausiraiia {Queensland Division) lmltfitnal Orga.msation of Employers :A, C Ca:,ey fo: the Shop. Distributive and Allied Employ,~s Association 1Qw.oo:n,llli1d Branch) Union of Employee,. M·; Y D' '\'h f'>r The Austrnlmn Workers' llniol' of Employee,, Qucrnslm,d. Opcrnt ive DaJP NI A Dcc,,i,"J f'a,tu Sa!:irday Trading Hours Rdea,ed: U December 1996 17 -- 1 of 1 --