Brisbane's weekend trading hours are a complicated mess of different 'time zones' that confuses patrons and traps traders.
QUT retail expert Dr Gary Mortimer says the National Retailers Association's push to standardise trading hours across Queensland is long overdue.
"Within 5km of the Brisbane CBD we have five different time zones for Saturday trading - in the CBD supermarkets trade 8am to 7pm; at New Farm it's 7am to 9pm, seven days a week; at Petrie Terrace it's 7am to 7pm; and in Woolloongabba it's 8am to 5pm. Drive out to Skygate at the airport and Woolworths trades 24 hours a day.
"In the regions it's even more of a mishmash - in Mt Isa with a population of over 33,000 there is no Sunday trading whereas in Moranbah with 8,000 people there is Sunday trading.
"There is no logic in the current permissible hours. The National Retail Association is promoting standardisation of the hours to 7am to 9pm Monday to Saturday.
"If we standardise the hours across the state it saves confusion for retailers who inadvertently open at the wrong time.
"The rules of opening are complicated because the permissible hours depend on the size of the premises and the number of employers - and that's where retailers can get into strife."
Dr Mortimer said the argument that convenience stores could not compete if larger retailers and shopping centres extended their hours or traded on Sundays was not valid.
"Convenience stores trade on other factors besides hours - smaller stores allow access to premium locations, unique localised product ranges, expert advice and quality of service," he said.
"People don't work Monday to Friday any longer. Miners, healthcare professionals, emergency workers, hospitality employees and transport workers all work shifts."
Media contact: Niki Widdowson, QUT media, 07 3138 2999 or n.widdowson@qut.edu.au
