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Greens slam shop trading hours referendum

The Greens have today indicated that they will not be supporting the proposed referendum on shop trading hours put forward by the Marshall Liberal Government.

The Greens slammed the idea as being a waste of public money, stating that the idea has been decisively rejected on multiple occasions by the Parliament and was harmful to small businesses.

Quotes attributable to Greens Parliamentary Leader Tammy Franks MLC:

“The upcoming state election should be a referendum on our health care system; on ambulance ramping; on growing inequality in our state; on ensuring food security and housing for all – not on shopping round the clock."

“The Parliament has rejected the deregulation of shop trading hours on multiple occasions, and for good reason. This move is bad for small business, and it’s bad for workers. We don’t need to be able to shop until our retail workers drop. Their hours and shifts are precarious enough as it is, and they deserve time off and time with their families too."

“The Treasurer is being petulant with this proposal for a referendum. Aside from the hefty price tag of the exercise it’s noteworthy that he has refused to even negotiate around issues such as Sunday morning trading despite key players putting that offer on the table. Rob Lucas’ all or nothing approach is absurd.”

Quotes attributable to Robert Simms MLC:

“This is another king hit on the small business sector in Adelaide, who are already reeling after the pandemic. At a time when the Government should be doing everything they can to help them, they are wasting taxpayer funds on a referendum.”

“What is it about the Liberals and referendums? Three years ago they subjected the people of our nation to a plebiscite to determine whether same-sex couples should have the right to marry, now they are at it again, subjecting the conditions of workers to a plebiscite. It’s time for them to stop outsourcing decisions about people’s lives to opinion polls."

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