NOOSA TODAY
Thursday, 22 May, 2014
5
Region at a loss WHILE the Noosa Council is happy with the recent court decision over a 14-year legal action by developer Roy Thompson, it has been less fortunate in its legal stoush over a Masters Home Improvement store at Noosaville. Former Sunshine Coast councillor, now Noosa councillor, Tony Wellington had led the charge against the Masters development. The development application originally came before the Sunshine Coast Council in March 2013. In spite of staff recommending an approval, Cr Wellington moved a successful motion to refuse the development. When the developer appealed that decision, Sunshine Coast Council decided to defend the appeal. The Noosa Council followed suit by continuing to defend the appeal. But now the game is up, with the Masters appeal upheld by the Planning and Environment Court.
Cr Wellington says the court decision will impact not just on local businesses but also Noosa’s economy. “Studies in the USA have shown that 80 cents out of every dollar that is spent at big box stores leaves the local economy,” he said. “In the Barnstable County at Cape Cod, for example, the economic impacts of a new Lowes Home Improvement Store included an estimated annual $6.6 million in lost business sales, 92 jobs lost and a net loss of $4.2 million per year in household earnings. “In Australia, Masters Home Improvement is a joint venture between the American Lowes Home Improvement stores and Woolworths. While Masters has been making significant losses, its real purpose is to challenge the supremacy of Bunnings. It’s just another aspect of the ongoing war between the two giants of Australian retailing, Woolworths and Coles/Wesfarmers.
In that crazy battle for supremacy there is plenty of ‘collateral damage’: inevitably big box stores displace locally owned businesses and in the process reduce consumer choices and diminish competition. “Woolworths owns Woolworth Supermarkets, Masters Home Improvement Stores, Big W, Dan Murphys, BWS and Cellarmasters. Wesfarmers owns Coles Supermarkets, Bunnings, Target, Kmart, Liquorland, First Choice, and Officeworks. “This scale of duopoly in the retail sector is not seen in other western nations. It seems to me that the whole country is relentlessly moving towards boring sameness in the retail area, and I think that is a crying shame. “The Planning and Environment Court decision demonstrates how little control councils actually have in protecting both local businesses and their local economy.”
Residents outraged From page 1 “The days of the local hardware store are dead and gone - Masters and Bunnings offer a great range and low prices,” Mr Keeshan said. Noosa Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Sarah Fisher said she supported local small businesses in the region and supported development which provides employment to locals and benefits the community. “Businesses should be free to choose when and where they wish to trade,” she said.
“We really should have only one set of rules for all business sizes, however we need to be mindful that there are only limited options available to us to address market dominance of Coles, Woolies, Bunnings and Masters. Noosa Chamber sympathises with those small businesses that are at a competitive disadvantage when competing against majors, this is a problem that has to be addressed for all Queensland small business to continue to be viable, grow and employ.” Noosa Council deputy mayor Bob Abbot, who spoke
against the Masters-Bunnings rivalry reaching Noosa, said he could not comment on council’s views, but said he was personally “disappointed”. “It’s a shame for local business,” he said. “And no matter what Masters does within the community, there’s still going to be collateral damage.” Fighting the development also came at a cost with Noosa Council forking out $171,745 to fight the development. Masters covered their own legal costs.
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Noosa Today interviewed three residents, Robyn Howard, Trish Bordignon and William Keeshan about the new Masters development.
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