NSW and Queensland governments are both looking at banning plastic shopping bags. This issue has long been debated by governments...
NSW and Queensland governments are both looking at banning plastic shopping bags. This issue has long been debated by governments over the years. Some of Australia’s less populous states and territories have already implemented bans of certain types of plastic bags. Bans are a blunt policy response to most problems but,...
Over the past few weeks I’ve spoken with you about the broader national interest after spending time in Canberra,...
Over the past few weeks I’ve spoken with you about the broader national interest after spending time in Canberra, particularly issues surrounding taxation and the Budget. This week, I’d like to focus discussions back towards the association, in order to highlight a number of opportunities we’ve launched for members...
It’s been a week of distractions in business and politics, from the instability of global stock markets to the...
It’s been a week of distractions in business and politics, from the instability of global stock markets to the decision of the Federal Government to abandon the idea of increasing the GST, to a looming Ministerial reshuffle. These are factors that can dent consumer confidence, which has otherwise been improving,...
Today’s official retail trade figures for December have confirmed the NRA’s predictions of steady and “sensible” spending by Australian...
Today’s official retail trade figures for December have confirmed the NRA’s predictions of steady and “sensible” spending by Australian consumers in the lead up to Christmas. The figures showed spending during the pre-Christmas period (the final six weeks of the year) reached $44.63bn – only just above our prediction...
Federal Parliament resumes next week, with the Government and Opposition both looking to finalise their pitches to voters ahead...
Federal Parliament resumes next week, with the Government and Opposition both looking to finalise their pitches to voters ahead of the election due later this year. To coincide with the resumption of Parliament, a delegation from the NRA will be in Canberra for meetings with the Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull,...
News this week of Woolworths’ decision to abandon its failing Masters chain has come as no surprise to the...
News this week of Woolworths’ decision to abandon its failing Masters chain has come as no surprise to the retail and business community, after widely-publicised losses. Post-Christmas is a time that traditionally sees retailers assessing their performance, with similar announcements having occurred in January in previous years. While we now...
The jobs figures released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics were very welcome news for the economy, and...
The jobs figures released yesterday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics were very welcome news for the economy, and for the retail sector. The ABS reported that 312,000 more Australians were in work in December compared with the same time 12 months ago, with most of those people finding full-time...
Happy New Year. I trust you have had a prosperous end to 2015 and a positive start to 2016....
Happy New Year. I trust you have had a prosperous end to 2015 and a positive start to 2016. Anecdotal feedback from members suggests to us that the Christmas and Boxing Day sales periods were generally strong. Based on the November sales data released by the Bureau of Statistics today,...
Here we are (almost) at the end of 2015. This edition of Week In Review is the last one...
Here we are (almost) at the end of 2015. This edition of Week In Review is the last one for the year, and it has been kept deliberately short because we know you are frantic with just a week until Christmas. However, there are a couple of things I...
The Federal Government this week released its innovation package which it hopes will spark an “ideas boom” across Australia....
The Federal Government this week released its innovation package which it hopes will spark an “ideas boom” across Australia. And while most commentary has tended to focus on high-tech industries and emerging technologies, it’s pleasing that the Government realises that ideas and innovation must also be fostered across traditional...
As a business owner or manager, you deal on a daily basis with a wide range of expenses –...
As a business owner or manager, you deal on a daily basis with a wide range of expenses – some large and some small, but each one impacting on your bottom line. And, no doubt you often stop to reflect on the worth of each overhead to your ultimate...
Aussies are spending more than ever before but visiting stores less, according to a snapshot of the country’s retail...
Aussies are spending more than ever before but visiting stores less, according to a snapshot of the country’s retail sector released this week. The annual Roy Morgan State of the Nation report this year featured a special focus on retail. It found spending on commodities topped $100 billion for...
With only five weeks to go until Christmas, we’re well into the swing of the festive season. Last week, we...
With only five weeks to go until Christmas, we’re well into the swing of the festive season. Last week, we welcomed the New South Wales Government’s landmark decision to allow retailers across New South Wales to open their doors on one of the biggest trading days of the year –...
We are fast approaching one of the busiest and most rewarding times of the year. This week, we’ve seen a...
We are fast approaching one of the busiest and most rewarding times of the year. This week, we’ve seen a landmark law passed in New South Wales, with the NSW Government allowing regional businesses to open their doors on Boxing Day, just in time for this year’s Christmas season. The NRA...
It’s just seven weeks until Christmas, and no doubt you are already well and truly gearing up for what...
It’s just seven weeks until Christmas, and no doubt you are already well and truly gearing up for what I hope will be a very prosperous time of the year. Yesterday, I released to the media the economic forecasts done by the NRA’s in-house research team, looking at the...
This week I hosted follow up discussions with the office of the new Treasurer Scott Morrison. We discussed a...
This week I hosted follow up discussions with the office of the new Treasurer Scott Morrison. We discussed a number of topics including the implementation timeline for scrapping the GST Low Value Threshold, the need for further tax reform, and the Financial Systems Inquiry. Regarding the costs of credit card...