Alan Jones – Craig Kelly (Southern Sydney Retailers Association)

Alan Jones : Very few people are prepared to speak out against unethical practice by big business

because they will face all sorts of threats from monopoly powers.

I’ve had correspondence from several such small businesses including a small business woman. She has

worked very hard for 10 years to provide great service to her local community, they have not been

seeking an enormous fortune but the goodwill she has built up is being stolen by her landlord and her

business is being crushed and destroyed by one single decision. The landlord charges her $1,000 per

sq/m in rent while Woolworths across the isle gets it for $200 per sq/m.

She has never been late on a single rent payment, she has been a model tenant but the landlord is

refusing to renew her lease and they only have a few weeks left before they are thrown out onto the

streets. Ten years of hard work put into the building of their business will be extinguished overnight and

the landlord refuses to discuss the issue or provide a reason why they will not renew the lease.

Interestingly she is paying 5 times more than Woolworths are paying across the way. I wonder why

Woolworths are paying a lot less?

These small businesses are among our best citizens but small business is being exploited on a daily

basis so that they can no longer bring any competitive pressure to the prices charged by Woolworths or

even Coles.

Our entrepreneurial culture is being destroyed and consumers are paying more and more for goods.

When a small business is crushed by the ruthless and unethical policies of a giant corporation - then we

are all a lot poorer.

Craig Kelly is from the SSRA, he has done a phenomenal amount of research on all of this and he is on

the line this morning. Craig, good morning.

Craig Kelly : Good Morning Alan.

Alan Jones : This small business that I eluded to is in your area, family owned ?

Craig Kelly : Yes it is. And yes they are a family owned business.

Alan Jones: Can we say who they are?

Craig Kelly : Unfortunately, not at the moment as the pressure they are under from their landlord is so

great and they are terrified to speak out.

Alan Jones : Can we say who the landlord is?

Craig Kelly : Alan unfortunately at the moment they are too frightened to publicise the issue.

Alan Jones : That’s it you see, but the landlord has assets of over 100 billion dollars, is that right ??

Craig Kelly : That’s right, yes.

Alan Jones : And you are saying that this small business currently pays $1,000 per square meter in rent

and Woolworths $200 per square meter

Craig Kelly : Actually that difference is small compared to what some small retailers are paying. If you

look at the small independent butchers in our shopping centres they are averaging $1,500 a square meter

compared to Woolworths at around $200 per square meter.

Alan Jones : Amazing isn’t it.