Press Release - The Future of Australian Retail [18/12/2010]
The Future of Australian RetailThe Government has today announced an inquiry into the future of Australian retail by the Productivity Commission, the release of new research into online shopping in Australia and a compliance campaign to crack down on people or businesses rorting the $1,000 low-value threshold.The Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten, today released the Terms of Reference for the Productivity Commission inquiry, which will report to the Government and industry in 2011 on the implications of globalisation on the Australian retail sector.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
The self serving statements by large traditional retailers are merely a clumsy attempt to squash the competition of a legitimate new business model.
ReplyDeleteThe comments by Minister O’Connor about the $1000 import threshold being abused or exploited are pandering to the Myers and Harvey Normans of the world. They are also inflammatory to small businesses lawfully and legitimately operating within GST and Duty thresholds, to establish themselves and provide a competitive shopping experience to Australian consumers.
Kudos to Bill Shorten for his balanced assessment of the situation – let’s hope the Productivity Commission isn’t swayed by the millions in lobbying dollars about to be thrown around by large retailers and that Australian consumers make their voices heard in support of a choice of retail channels.