Dealers cry foul on Easter trade

Despite being allowed to trade on the day for the past nine years, changes made by the State Government to the South Australia Shop Trading Hours Act removed the ability of dealers to open on Easter Saturday.


Dealers say they were not warned of the change and only found out once it was announced in the Government Gazette last Monday.


The news prompted Jarvis Group chairman Richard Collins to seek exemptions to open seven dealerships across Adelaide and call for the law change to be reversed.

"We had no warning, there was no discussion with us,'' he said.
Mr Collins said he had opened ever year since 2003, when car dealers were first allowed to trade on Easter Saturday, and had always had good sales.

"Why should we be denied the right to open on Easter Saturday just because some others choose not to,'' he said. "We always sell a lot of cars on Easter Saturday and we did this year.''


Motor Trade Association SA executive director John Chapman said member surveys had shown the "vast bulk'' of dealers did not want to trade on Easter Saturday.


Mr Chapman said he had raised this with the Government but only became aware of the law change on Monday.

"It is something we have had on the agenda with the Government for some time and they obviously chose this opportunity (to disallow dealer trading),'' he said.


"It's a change that unless you spend about two hours going over the legislation you wouldn't find it.''
Mr Chapman said he would continue working with the Government and dealers to find a compromise.


A spokeswoman for Industrial Relations Minister Russell Wortley confirmed Easter Saturday trading arrangements were changed as part of amendments to the Shop Trading Hours Act "following a request from the MTA''.


She said the Bill was out for public consultation and before Parliament for several weeks. "However, given the timing of the legislative change just before the Easter break, also at the request of the MTA, the Government decided to grant exemptions to dealerships that wanted to trade on Easter Saturday,'' she said.