In hope that it will boost city foot traffic, general retail stores in the Perth special trading precinct will be able to trade until 9pm on the Queens Birthday Holiday on 28 October 2011.

This will coincide with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which will be held in Perth and is expected to attract more than 4,000 visitors including Presidents and Prime Ministers, their foreign ministers, key business people, journalists and community and youth leaders.

Acting Commerce Minister Bill Marmion said the extended retail trading would enable consumers and retailers to participate in CHOGM events, including the Commonwealth Festival.

“There will be a number of activities happening in the Perth CBD this day with free travel on the Transperth network to allow anyone who is interested to participate in celebrations,” he said.

General retail shops in the Perth Special Trading Precinct will be allowed to open between 8am to 9pm on the Friday, October 28, 2011. All other special trading precincts which include Fremantle, Joondalup, Armadale and Midland will be permitted to trade between the normal public holiday special trading precinct trading times, from 8am to 5pm.

The Acting Minister said the decision to extend trading hours on the Queens Birthday Holiday also reflected the state government’s general commitment to provide more choice to retailers and consumers on shopping hours. Retailers and consumers can now take advantage of the extended trading opportunities in the Perth Special Trading Precinct.