Message from the CEO: 16 June 2020

Last week the Federal Attorney-General, Christian Porter, announced the memberships of the five industrial relations working groups charged with...

Last week the Federal Attorney-General, Christian Porter, announced the memberships of the five industrial relations working groups charged with ensuring Australia has an appropriate IR system to ensure a speedy economic recovery. I’m pleased to announce that the NRA has been selected to sit on the Award Simplification working group....

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Message from the CEO: 9 June 2020

Retail turnover dropped by an unprecedented 17.7 per cent in April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)....

Retail turnover dropped by an unprecedented 17.7 per cent in April, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Although we were already well aware of the economic impact of COVID-19, these figures quantify the full extent of the hit that retail has endured thus far. This came one day...

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Message from the CEO: 2 June 2020

Australia is now below 500 active Coronavirus cases, a remarkable feat compared to other nations around the world. Containing...

Australia is now below 500 active Coronavirus cases, a remarkable feat compared to other nations around the world. Containing the virus was always going to be critical in unwinding business restrictions and has resulted in all states and territories beginning the process of reopening their respective economies. This led to...

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Message from the CEO: 26 May 2020

It’s been another hectic past seven days for the retail sector as Australia continues its arm wrestle with COVID-19....

It’s been another hectic past seven days for the retail sector as Australia continues its arm wrestle with COVID-19. Last week the ACCC granted interim authorisation to allow NRA members who are tenants to collectively bargain with landlords for continued rental relief if they’ve been adversely affected by COVID-19. The...

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Message from the CEO: 19th May 2020

Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its labour force figures and unsurprisingly it was sobering news....

Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its labour force figures and unsurprisingly it was sobering news. Seasonally adjusted, the employment level fell by 594,300 people between March and April. Although the official unemployment rate only came through at 6.2 per cent, this does not account for people...

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Message from the CEO: 12 May 2020

With COVID-19 restrictions being gradually lifted across most states, retailers who had been forced to shut their doors are...

With COVID-19 restrictions being gradually lifted across most states, retailers who had been forced to shut their doors are beginning to reopen. The struggle is far from over, but hopefully this does indicate that the worst is behind us. Just yesterday, the National Retail Association hosted a Town Hall webinar...

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Message from the CEO: 5 May 2020

The last few weeks have been bigger than any other challenge to confront Australia in living memory. While Australia...

The last few weeks have been bigger than any other challenge to confront Australia in living memory. While Australia has done an incredible job, relative to other countries, in containing the spread of COVID-19, the economic hit has been substantial. Indeed, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has forecast a $4 billion...

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Message from the CEO: 28 April 2020

We are almost at the end of the first full month of lockdown restrictions. The impact that COVID-19 has...

We are almost at the end of the first full month of lockdown restrictions. The impact that COVID-19 has had on the retail sector cannot be overstated, even businesses that have been able to stay open have suffered the ripple effects to the economy. Last week the Australian Bureau of...

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Message from the CEO: 14 April 2020

As the Coronavirus lockdown continues, last week provided further developments regarding the retail sector. Following extensive collaboration with numerous...

As the Coronavirus lockdown continues, last week provided further developments regarding the retail sector. Following extensive collaboration with numerous industry groups, including the NRA, the Prime Minister announced the national tenancy framework. Overall, we believe it strikes a sensible balance between the interests of tenants and landlords and would maximise...

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Message from the CEO: 7 April 2020

These are truly extraordinary times. The worst health pandemic in 100 years, governments across the world being forced to...

These are truly extraordinary times. The worst health pandemic in 100 years, governments across the world being forced to implement stringent community lockdowns and many people feeling more anxious than at any other time in their lives. A key issue directly affecting the retail sector at present is the issue...

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Message from the CEO: 31 March 2020

Covid-19 is proving to be a once-in-one-hundred-year crisis. I don’t need to tell any of you of the adverse...

Covid-19 is proving to be a once-in-one-hundred-year crisis. I don’t need to tell any of you of the adverse economic effects it is inflicting on Australia as lockdown measures continue to tighten. With the attention of all governments entirely focused on stopping the spread of this virus and mitigating...

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Message from the CEO: 24 March 2020

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate, it is becoming clear that this issue is going to have a...

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate, it is becoming clear that this issue is going to have a profound affect, not only now but in the period ahead. On Sunday night the Prime Minister, following a meeting of the National Cabinet, implemented a Stage 1 shutdown of non-essential...

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Message from the CEO: 17 March 2020

The Coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold with the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declaring it a pandemic. At the...

The Coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold with the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declaring it a pandemic. At the time of writing Victoria has declared a state of emergency and the number of Australian cases continues to snowball. And of course, it’s not just the health risks associated with this...

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Message from the CEO: 10 March 2020

Australia has been subjected to a summer of disasters. Large-scale bushfires that ravaged numerous regional communities, a longstanding drought,...

Australia has been subjected to a summer of disasters. Large-scale bushfires that ravaged numerous regional communities, a longstanding drought, and now the Coronavirus outbreak have all left an impact that now extends beyond those directly affected. This was demonstrated in last week’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail report...

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Message from the CEO: 3rd March 2020

Headlines right around the world are dominated at present by the Coronavirus health scare and the fallout taking place....

Headlines right around the world are dominated at present by the Coronavirus health scare and the fallout taking place. We’re starting to see elected representatives at all levels of government take action to both protect the public and curb the economic consequences.   Last week the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, warned...

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Message from the CEO: 25 February 2020

We are now just one week away from nominations opening for the 2020 National Retail Awards. From next Monday,...

We are now just one week away from nominations opening for the 2020 National Retail Awards. From next Monday, March 2, retailers from across the country will be able to lodge their nominations via our online portal.   It is completely free to enter, with the winners announced at our star-studded...

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