The first is that the NRA will be operating as normal throughout the Christmas and New Year period. As usual, we will be closed on weekends and public holidays, but otherwise you can still access all the support for your member enquiries that you do at any other time of year. We know this is a vital time of the trading calendar for almost all retailers, and we think it’s reasonable for you to expect your industry association to be here to support you.
The second important point I wanted to mention pertains specifically to those operating in New South Wales. As you know, the Baird Government recently passed legislation through the Parliament to allow trading on Boxing Day throughout the state. But this is on a trial basis for two years. It’s important that you keep some records of how successful the day was for you, if you decide to trade. This will give us the information we need to argue for keeping this measure in place for future years.
And lastly, I want wish you a merry Christmas and a very successful new year. It is a year which I believe holds great promise for our sector, and I look forward to hearing many stories of success from you over the next 12 months. Thank-you for your support of the NRA during 2015, and particularly to those members who took the time to write to me throughout the year in relation to various issues I have raised in this column. We will continue to fight the good fight for retail in 2016!
Trevor Evans, CEO