Boxing Day to cost bottleshops $3.5 million

Over 1000 NSW liquor stores will forfeit $3.5 million this Boxing Day due to an outdated, prehistoric and unfair law that forces them to close their doors to customers, according to the Liquor Stores Association NSW.

Members of the Liquor Stores Association NSW (LSA NSW) are calling on the Parliament to wind back the shop trading provisions of the Retail Trading Act 2008 that prohibits bottleshops from trading on a day that historically is one of the biggest of the year.

LSA NSW executive director Michael Waters said Boxing Day traditionally generated on average $3.5 million in revenue for liquor stores, two and a half times the amount of a regular trading day.

"Due to this nonsense law introduced by the then Labor Government in 2009, thousands of retailers can’t open their doors leaving employees, who have previously had the opportunity to work and earn lucrative penalty rates, with unnecessary hardship," he said.

"Around 2,500 liquor store staff and their families across NSW are unfairly disadvantaged, while their friends, fellow students or colleagues can work at a bar or at a clothing department store and earn double time and a half, liquor store staff have been forced to forgo this opportunity.

"We are currently operating on an uneven playing field, while many packaged liquor retailers are forced to close on Boxing Day, hotel licences are exempt," said Waters.

LSA NSW welcomed Premier Mike Baird's recent acknowledgement that modernisation of retail trading laws in NSW was well overdue.

"We are encouraged that many Ministers are on the record as saying they would like to see more consistency around the trading day laws. On any objective analysis – including the Premier’s own calculations – the present restriction on Boxing Day trade fail the common sense criteria, and we welcome ongoing dialogue with the members of Parliament to resolve this anomaly in the NSW Legislation," Waters said.