AACS CALLS FOR SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT AHEAD OF ELECTION

As NSW voters prepare to head to the polls, the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has urged Liberal and Labor to take heed of the potential vote influencing significance of giving small business a fairer go when it comes to competing with the major grocery chains.
Recent independent research by SMR Global, and commissioned by the AACS, investigated the attitudes and opinions of consumers of voting age on a range of key issues affecting the convenience industry in NSW and Australia.
The research covered areas including the legalisation of e-cigarettes, the illicit trade of tobacco and permitting convenience stores to sell packaged alcohol, and the findings are compelling – especially in terms of the potential for these issues to influence people’s votes.
Some key take-outs from the research include:
• 48% of all Australians (smokers and non-smokers) feel strongly enough about the legalisation of e-cigarettes for it to influence their vote.
• 51% of all Australians (smokers and non-smokers) would consider changing their vote if the major parties differed in their response to tackling the illicit tobacco trade.
• 45% of consumers support convenience stores having a licence to sell packaged alcohol, while 24% of people are neutral and just 31% oppose the idea.
AACS CEO Jeff Rogut says the findings are not surprising given the environment of increased public dismay at the tactics of ‘big business’.
“We believe the average hard-working Australian wants a fairer go for small businesses, as the fallout from topical issues like the milk-price wars, the anti-competitive tactics of the major supermarkets and even the banking royal commission leave a bitter taste in people’s mouths,” Mr Rogut said.
“Politicians invariably trumpet their support for small business during election campaigns but too often, once the verdict is in and there are no immediate votes at stake, that support fails to translate into real action.
“The recent research we’ve commissioned should make politicians at all levels stop and think. There is a groundswell of support for measures that promote a more level playing field in retail, and which provide the capacity for small businesses like convenience stores to more effectively compete with the big end of town,” he said.
Some of the key areas the AACS is pushing for reform in include:
• Progressing the development of an appropriate legal framework for the sale of e-cigarettes, to make information on the potential benefits of these products more widely available and accessible through convenience stores, following various international examples;
• Cracking down on the illicit trade of tobacco, currently estimated to cost the Australian Government over $1.9 billion in lost tax revenue each year;
• Securing the right for convenience stores to sell packaged alcohol should they so choose; and
• Securing improved support from Government and law enforcement authorities in taking a zero tolerance approach to crimes committed against convenience stores.
“The AACS has consistently called for deregulation in the packaged alcohol market to enable Australian convenience stores to participate in this market as their international counterparts are able to do. This market is currently dominated to an unsustainable extent by the two major grocery chains, through their various brands and outlets, and it’s time to open up new economic opportunities to new players,” Mr Rogut said.
“Legalising the sale of e-cigarettes is another economic opportunity for convenience stores that comes with the added benefit of delivering significant positive health outcomes in the community.
“Internationally, these products have proven very effective as an alternative to help people quit traditional smoking and as a profitable category for convenience stores, as the sale of legal tobacco naturally declines. It’s mystifying that, in Australia, we are denying consumers access to a product that could potentially save their lives.
“Failing to legalise the sale of e-cigarettes is fuelling the black market trade of these products. As the huge growth of the illicit tobacco trade in Australia shows, criminals are highly adept at filling gaps in the legal market with inferior quality, potentially dangerous products that have no quality control standards.
“Our research shows people in NSW and Australia are more aware and more concerned about the scourge of illegal cigarettes permeating their local communities.
“While these issues cross State and Federal lines in terms of Government responsibility, we believe a coordinated effort from Governments at all levels is necessary to provide the proper support small businesses need,” Mr Rogut said.
On the issue of crime, the AACS believes there is considerable scope to bolster the law enforcement and judicial response to better protect the people in the convenience industry.
In 2017, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Vulnerable Workers) Bill was passed as a result of a series of enquiries into the treatment of vulnerable workers after some high-profile examples of worker exploitation.
“There is an opportunity to use this legislation as a basis and extend it to serve as a deterrent for those who commit violent crimes on workers not only in our industry, but also to protect the people who work in fast food restaurants and other late night businesses,” Mr Rogut said.
This would require a change similar to the Justice Legislation Miscellaneous Amendment Bill 2018, which made an assault on a paramedic a category 1 offence, automatically incurring a custodial sentence.
“It is unacceptable for anyone to face the fear of a violent crime being committed against them in the course of their work. Smarter deterrents and tougher penalties are part of the response we’re calling for to protect the people in our industry,” Mr Rogut says.
1.E-cigarettes, illicit tobacco, sugar taxation and alcohol retailing, SMR Global Pty Ltd, February 2019
Further information:
Jeff Rogut
Chief Executive Officer
Australasian Association of Convenience Stores
Ph: +61 467 873 789