Proposed trading hours consultation for April or May backed by Albany councillors at committee level

Extended trading hours in Albany are being thrust back into the spotlight with the city’s council expected to green-light a consultation on the matter at its ordinary meeting in coming weeks. A recommendation to consult the community and engage the Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry was endorsed by councillors at the committee level on Tuesday. The unanimously endorsed recommendation included singling out the WA Electoral Commission as a preferred option to undertake the survey because of its wide-reaching capability. It also suggested a financial contribution be made to the ACCI for it to survey the business community. For trading hours to be extended, the city must demonstrate it has carried out appropriate consultation with local trade organisations and tourism interests, as well as the local member of State Parliament and the wider community. A suggested time line for the consultation indicates it would be organised in March, conducted in April and May, analysed in June and the council would make a decision in July. The vote came after councillors spent about 50 minutes asking city officers questions and debating the motion among themselves. Questions raised included asking whether consultation directly with community and sporting groups could also be included in plans, and whether there would be an opportunity to gauge the opinions of younger residents who are not able to be on the electoral roll. Councillors were also told it would be up to their own discretion as to how much weight they would give to each section of the community’s position when it was their turn to vote on the matter later this year. During last year’s local government election campaign Albany mayor Greg Stocks made a commitment that trading hours consultation would be held if he was voted in saying it was “time to take it back to the community”. He told the committee retail trading hours had been a contentious issue the “whole time I’ve been on council for 12 years”. “Should council agree to survey the community there will be fierce and diverse opinion, both from those seeking the status quo and those keen to see change,” he said. “It has been 19 years since we conducted a referendum and we are 12 years on from conducting a very limited online survey where there was approximately 800 respondents. “What I want to emphasise and be very clear about is that the item is asking us to undertake a consultation period, but remain completely neutral in a position regarding its outcome.” Cr Paul Terry seconded the motion and said the way the 2012 survey had been carried out was “quite flawed”. “We need to do this more widely and that’s why going through the WAEC to undertake the survey so that everyone who is on the electoral roll has the opportunity to vote once,” he said. A proposed amendment tabled by Cr Malcolm Traill to not preference the WAEC to run the survey in the motion was defeated 2-10. He said while he believed using the WAEC was “probably the best way to do it” it was an operational matter rather than a policy matter. His amendment was supported by Cr Stephen Grimmer who said the clause in the recommendation was “almost anti-competitive”. The council will meet on February 27 to officially determine if it will carry out the consultation.