Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas wants a “special extended trading hours zone” for retailers in the Perth CBD, allowing them to stay open after 5pm on weekends.
Mr Zempilas said the worldwide sell by the WA Government “to come and visit the dream State” was being marred by restricted trading hours in the CBD.
He said the 5pm shutdown for Perth CBD retailers on Saturdays and Sundays was a joke as shoppers were forced to go online to make the most of the Black Friday sales and families started filling their Christmas stockings.
“I have asked the Premier to consider a special extended trading hours zone for retailers in the CBD on Saturday and Sunday only,” Mr Zempilas told The Sunday Times.
“Just let the shops in the city open after 5pm on the weekend — not every day and not open earlier, just be allowed to close later on Saturday and Sunday.”
Perth has some of the most antiquated shopping hours in Australia.
Perth shops can open from 8am-9pm on weekdays, from 8am-5pm on a Saturday, and from 11am-5pm on a Sunday.
Mr Zempilas has previously tried to convince the McGowan Government to allow shops to open earlier on a Sunday.
But this has fallen on deaf ears.
The South Australian Parliament has passed new laws to allow shops to open at 9am on Sundays instead of 11am.
“As it stands, the State Government is spending millions of dollars inviting people around the world to come and visit WA, the dream State, but when they get here they find shops in the capital city are…
