Extended Trading Hours
Western Australians voted overwhelmingly against extended trading hours in the recent referendum, making it perfectly clear we (generally speaking) wish to clearly differentiate between family/recreation time and shopping/business hours.
As one of the (clearly minority) Western Australians who voted for extended trading hours, I really would have liked to have had more flexibility in the time available to shop. Even though I am not an employee anymore, it is not that long since I was one, and it was really, really difficult for me to get to the shops during the week. I’m sure this was made worse by the fact that I had to drive 60km home each night and the nearest shops from my home are half an hour’s drive away, but hey, I’m a modern woman and as such I appreciate my conveniences!
I think both the For and Against arguments had merits, and it was very much a case of “how does this affect me personally?” For example, it just doesn’t happen that a business-owning voter will say “Even though my business will go broke, I see that it will be in the best interests of Western Australians if we have extended trading hours.”
I just can’t help wishing we had the flexibility offered in other states and countries… I really don’t agree with the outcome of this referendum. (Sorry, small retail outlets!)
