ACT GOVERNMENT TAKES AIM AT SMALL BUSINESS THROUGH RIDICULOUS RESTRICTIONS

MEDIA RELEASE
April 1 2014
Surely it’s an April Fools’ joke.
Otherwise, small businesses in the ACT must be questioning if the Government is genuinely attempting to sabotage their businesses with the absurd new restrictions on tobacco proposed in the territory.
Australasian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) CEO Jeff Rogut said unproven measures like the tobacco licence and trading restrictions proposed will not only cause significant harm to small businesses, they also represent the type of short-sighted discriminatory policy increasingly favoured by Governments seeking to flex their muscle.
“The damage caused by this type of vote grabbing kneejerk policy is regrettably felt most acutely at the small business level. Small businesses already justifiably feel ignored and unsupported by Government,” Mr Rogut said.
“It has been repeatedly proven that licence fee increases do nothing but harm small businesses, which experience substantially greater difficulty absorbing the increased costs than the major supermarkets. This combines with the loss of sales and foot traffic these small businesses will experience, all for no proven outcomes.
“Convenience stores are 24 hour businesses which provide a unique and valuable service to the community. It is fundamentally unreasonable to deny stores the right to sell a legal product to an adult customer when they’re open for business, just as it’s unreasonable to deny that customer the right to purchase a legal product.
“Furthermore, restricting the sale of tobacco to age-restricted premises is a clear example of unfair competition. It is difficult to conceive how the ACT Government conjured such absurd, unfair and unethical proposals,” Mr Rogut said.
Mr Rogut said the proposed restrictions are perhaps the most obvious admission by Government as to the futility of plain packaging, something those in the industry are only too aware of.
“We have already seen a massive spike in illegal tobacco as a direct, inarguable consequence of plain packaging. Measures like those proposed in the ACT will clearly and dramatically increase the illegal tobacco market further,” Mr Rogut said.
“The proposed restrictions are reckless to say the least. Any savvy criminal will recognise the opportunities these restrictions will present.”
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the proposed new trading restrictions, Mr Rogut said, is the fact the ACT Government has made no attempt to disguise the discrimination that underpins them.
“These proposed restrictions are discriminatory on a number of levels. Firstly, the assumption that everyone works 9 to 5 is ridiculous in this day and age. It has become the norm to demonise smokers as second class citizens, but dictating the circumstances under which adult consumers can shop represents a loss of democracy,” Mr Rogut said.
“Secondly, tobacco remains a legal product, one Governments around the country enjoy filling their coffers with while peddling their faux outrage.
“Given excise and GST go straight to the Federal Government, they could make the claim they’re not making money from tobacco. At the same time, a significant increase in licence fees could be considered just a revenue raiser for the ACT Government.
“Finally, the move to align tobacco sales with liquor sales could result in supermarkets increasing their share of this market even further. This has been the case with petrol, which everyone agrees has put many independents out of business.
“Small businesses, which already receive no Government support, again find themselves in the firing line. It’s unreasonable, unfair, undemocratic and, when you consider the livelihoods these ridiculous measures place at stake, unconscionable.
“We urge all small business owner and employees, and anyone interested in promoting a more level playing field in the retail sector, to voice their concerns to the ACT Government,” he said.
Further information:
Jeff Rogut
Chief Executive Officer
Australasian Association of Convenience Stores
Ph: +61 467 873 789
Media enquiries:
Stephen Naylor
Wise McBaron Communication
Ph: +61 (2) 9279 4770