PEAK retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association today welcomes new NSW Small Business Commissioner Robyn Hobbs OAM and thanks former NSW Small Business Commissioner Yasmin King for all of her hard work and dedication to small business over the last few years.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said the ARA is eager to work alongside Ms Hobbs once she officially begins her new role on 25 February 2014.

“The ARA looks forward to working alongside Ms Hobbs to ensure the retail sector remains viable and successful into the future. We are especially pleased to hear that one of Ms Hobbs’ first challenges is to review the Retail Leases Act.

“On behalf of the ARA and the wider retail industry, I would like to wish Yasmin King every success for the future. The retail sector have benefited greatly from Ms King’s ongoing support.

“Small businesses are the backbone of Australia's economy, representing 96 percent of all businesses in the country. In NSW alone, there are 680,000 small businesses employing around 50 percent of the NSW workforce,” Mr Zimmerman said.

Since 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body representing Australia’s $265 billion retail sector, which employs over 1.2 million people. The ARA ensures retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

Visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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PEAK retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is concerned for the future of small business after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) left the current cash rate of 2.5 percent unchanged today.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said it continues to be extremely difficult for businesses, especially small to medium businesses, to expand and contribute their full potential to the Australian economy without sufficient financial support in the post GFC finance world.

“It is crucial that the RBA and government work together to find a way of supporting small business finance availability. Without access to much-needed finance, the retail sector will not be able to move forward and develop.

“The ARA is also worried that a rate stay at this time of year may reverse the positive results that the industry has worked hard to achieve over the last few months, particularly during the booming Christmas period.

“We were also hoping for a reduction in the current cash rate in order stimulate employment, particularly youth employment which has recently hit an 11-year low. The ARA is strongly concerned for the future of Australian retail workers and a reduction today would have certainly supported the retail industry and encouraged employment opportunities for the leaders of tomorrow.

“While business needs support it is also important for consumers to continue to have relief on their stretched budgets to allow them to support the retail economy.

“The ARA believes the current cash rate has room for further adjustment and we have every hope that with the RBA’s support, the retail sector will experience a healthier and more successful year compared to the last,” Mr Zimmerman said.

Since 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body representing Australia’s $265 billion retail sector, which employs over 1.2 million people. The ARA ensures retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

Visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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PEAK retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said the seasonally adjusted rise (0.5 percent increase) in monthly retail trade figures (month-on-month) reported today by the ABS followed a 0.7 percent rise in November 2013.

These results are a positive sign that pre-Christmas sales were slow yet steady, with higher expectations for the January post-Christmas sales.

Year on year retail growth also increased to 5.6 percent.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said the 0.5 percent increase in monthly retail trade figures is a positive sign for the retail industry following previous weak Christmas sales. This is also an indication that some categories remain on a slow growth path and the need to fix the GST tax inequality caused by overseas purchases is imperative.

“It is essential that the government finally makes a decision to close the low value GST loophole. Australian retailers have been competing at a disadvantage for too long, and it is only fair that the closing of the GST loophole is made a priority.

“We are certainly expecting higher trade results in January, as there have been reports that the post-Christmas sales period was extremely successful, fuelled largely by booming Boxing Day sales.

“Anecdotally, a number of retailers I have spoken to since Christmas have been blown away by how enormous Boxing Day was and we expect this will be evident in January’s retail trade figures.

“It’s no surprise that food retailing (2.5%) and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.5%) were large contributors to the December results due to the warm weather and social events associated with Christmas parties, celebrations and end-of-year holidays.

“These rises were partially offset by falls in other retailing (-3.1 percent), clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-2.1 percent) and household goods retailing (-0.2 percent) following a strong November.

“The ARA was also pleased to see turnover rise in New South Wales (0.9%), Victoria (0.6%), Queensland (0.2%), Tasmania (1.8%), Australian Capital Territory (1.3%) and Western Australia (0.1%) in December and very strong year on year sales,” Mr Zimmerman said.

MONTHLY RETAIL GROWTH (November 2013 – December 2013 seasonally adjusted)

Food retailing (2.5%),

Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.5%),

Department stores (0.3%),

Household goods retailing (-0.2%),

Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-2.1%), and

Other retailing (-3.1%).

Total sales (0.5%).

Tasmania (1.8%),

Australian Capital Territory (1.3%),

New South Wales (0.9%),

Victoria (0.6%),

Queensland (0.2%),

Western Australia (0.1%),

South Australia (-0.2%) and

Northern Territory (-1.5%).

Total sales (0.5%).

YEAR-ON-YEAR RETAIL GROWTH (December 2012 – December 2013 seasonally adjusted)

Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (10.4%),

Food retailing (6.8%),

Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (5.5%),

Other retailing (3.8%),

Household goods retailing (3.3%), and

Department stores (-0.5%).

Total sales (5.6%).

Tasmania (8.0%),

Australian Capital Territory (7.2%),

New South Wales (7.2%),

Victoria (5.9%),

Queensland (4.8%),

South Australia (4.3%),

Western Australia (3.0%) and

Northern Territory (2.8%).

Total sales (5.6%).

Since 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body representing Australia’s $265 billion retail sector, which employs over 1.2 million people. The ARA ensures retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 5,000 independent and national retail members throughout Australia.

Visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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QUEENSLAND's peak body for the resources sector has welcomed the release today of the Australian Government's progress report to UNESCO's World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation of the Great Barrier Reef ('the State Party Report').

Queensland Resource Council Chief Executive Michael Roche says the report outlines the significant progress made by Australia in the past 12 months to comprehensively deliver on the requests of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) concerning the management of the Reef.

'The State Party Report again documents the real threats to the reef as being extreme weather events, the potential effects of climate change, the crown of thorns starfish infestations and nutrient and sediment run-off from land clearing and broad-scale agriculture,' Mr Roche said.

'Flying in the face of the hysterical reaction from some quarters to the granting on Friday of a dredging permit at Abbot Point, the State Party report identifies impacts from port development and dredging as minor, temporary and localised.'

Mr Roche congratulated the Australian and Queensland Governments and their partners in industry and the research community for the fine work being done to turn around the health of the reef, particularly with the efforts on controlling the crown of thorns infestations and improving agricultural practices.

'I urge everyone interested in the health of the reef to read the State Party Report,' said Mr Roche. 'The report documents for example the severe impacts of cyclones and the resultant flood plumes.'

Mr Roche said the report also outlined the measures being pursued with industry support to further enhance shipping safety and reduce the environmental impacts of shipping, under the North East Shipping Management Plan.

'ndustry also has lent its support to the Queensland Government's ports strategy, which restricts any significant port development to existing ports such as Abbot Point and Gladstone.

Mr Roche said that one gap in the State Party Report was that it overlooked the economic contribution of the resource sector operations that rely on ports adjacent to the Reef.

'In 2012-13, Queensland resources operations directly injected spending of $38 billion into the Queensland economy, and was responsible for one in four dollars of the Queensland economy and one in five jobs.'

www.qrc.org.au 

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