By Raquel Mustillo
MILLICENT’S unique trading hour regime was relaxed during the state’s three-day lockdown, allowing the town’s two regulated supermarkets to trade around the clock.
But neither Woolworths Millicent or Foster’s Foodland opened its doors beyond the usual hours of 9pm on Thursday, 6pm on Friday and 5pm on Saturday, with both retailers saying the existing hours were appropriate.
Under state legislation, supermarkets larger than 400 square metres and shops larger than 200 square metres are unable to open in Millicent on specific days, including Sundays and public holidays.
Ahead of the Thursday lockdown, Treasurer Rob Lucas granted supermarkets across suburban Adelaide permission to trade extended hours under a 14-day exemption to help support spatial distancing measures.
The exemption was expanded to Millicent – which is the only regional town in the state which also restricts the opening hours of large stores – as part of South Australia Police’s COVID-19 direction.
Despite expanding trading hours across South Australia, long-time deregulation proponents Woolworths continued to operate its usual hours in Millicent.
In a statement, a Woolworths spokesperson said the current trading hours for Millicent were “appropriate to meet the needs of the community at this time”.
Foster’s Foodland manager Dave Foster said staff at the Kentish Place supermarket were exhausted following the snap lockdown and said he did not believe expanding hours would provide benefits to the business or consumers.
Mr Foster, who is vehemently opposed to any change to the shop trading hours, believed COVID-19 had changed consumer behaviour.
“Before coronavirus our busiest time would be after 5pm and that’s when everyone would do their shopping,“ he said.
“It has really changed since April and now we see people coming in throughout the day.
“If Woolworths had opened we might have considered opening as well, but our staff needed a break.“
The two supermarkets along with Target Country – which is also regulated – have been granted exemptions to trade on Sunday during December formal application by the Millicent Business Community Association.
Millicent residents have voted overwhelmingly in favour of retaining the current shop trading hours, with a 2017 council-run poll finding 72pc of respondents support the town’s rare regulated shopping regime.
