This coming Easter Sunday, April 16 non-exempt, larger retailers like Coles and Woolworths will be allowed to open their doors to customers in Southeast Queensland.

The Palaszczuk Government announced the decision on March 3, six weeks before Easter, to create a more uniform policy across the state.

Previously, non-exempt retailers in Southeast Queensland including Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast were not permitted to trade on Easter Sunday, while smaller, exempt retailers in the area and all retailers, as a general rule, in the rest of Queensland were.

The decision also follows the Industrial Relations Act 2016, which came into effect on 1 March, making Easter Sunday a public holiday in Queensland.

Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said, “We had a crazy situation, which meant that you could open on Easter Sunday in Mackay but not in Brisbane, the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Coast.

“This was a complete nonsense that was acting as a handbrake on jobs and holding back the economy in the southeast.”

The Government, backed by the National Retail Association (NRA), has argued that the reform is good for business, consumers and tourism in Southeast Queensland. But Jos de Bruin, CEO of the Master Grocers Association/Liquor Retailers Australia, which represents independents, disagrees.

He stresses that NRA is funded by non-exempt retailers like Coles and Woolies and says the change will be bad for small businesses.

Family-owned and independent liquor retailers in Southeast Queensland will now face competition from the likes of Liquorland and Dan Murphy’s on Easter Sunday for example.

The former legislation gave smaller retailers a window of opportunity to get customers in through their door while the chains were closed.

Jos said the timeframe between the Government announcing the change and Easter Sunday was also too short, not allowing exempt retailers to prepare for the change or have their say.

He feels the Palaszczuk Government is out of touch with small businesses in the state and is disappointed that it failed to consult with the industry before it made its decision.

“Small businesses had planned their Sunday Easter trading around being able to trade, without the overarching power of big businesses encroaching on a small window of opportunity they had to realise profits on Easter Sunday,” Jos said.

“The Palaszczuk Government has once again ignored the needs of small businesses. This is just another step in the radical trading hours’ changes promised by a Government determined to promote the interests of big businesses in Queensland, over the desperate needs of smaller businesses who are struggling to survive in the retail industry.”

Non-exempt retailers should note that they only have to work the additional trading hours if they voluntarily agree to do so.