Supermarket battlefield | Northern Rivers News | Local News in Northern Rivers

while the right of local people to determine the nature of development in thier area exists, it must be defended and championed and i applaud the conduct of both groups of protesters. however, in the light of recent fractious behaviour by some and thier 'spokesmen' involved in other local protests, i strongly urge all involved in this important debate to 'avoid like the plague' those who would manipulate opinions to further thier own political agenda. you know the type by now, no doubt. the way forward needs negotiating with open eyes and minds if the road to hell is to be avioded. nimbyism is not helpful for mullum; and workers, woolies propaganda is what it is. don,t believe the hype.

I wonder if the Mallams workers have signed agreements with Woolworths about their likely employment prospects in the new Mullumbimby Woolworths store. Quoting from the article above
They (anti-Woolies protesters) don't realise how many people they are impacting on. There are more than 100 people who rely on this organisation for their weekly wages
Considering that the new WWs will have nine automated checkouts, I cannot see how this new store will employ 100 people. The experience in Maleny is that few locals have been employed, and only as casuals, most manager level staff live outside the town.
There are also the workers in the small shops around Mullumbimby who could lose their jobs if WWs comes to town. So these workers also have a right to a job. which they could lose if WWs comes to town. Statistics show for every 17 new jobs WWs create 10 are lost from the town elsewhere.
In Australia small business emplys about 40 percent of the workforce.

Dear rObert what you say is very true, however, the much quoted jobs created/jobs lost statistics you have around the wrong way. What I am sure you meant to say was for every 10 WWs jobs created 17 are lost else where. There is no doubt WWs are very good at what they do, -dominating the market place and making profit . If there is a way they can cut the costs of labour, as we have seen with the auto checkout they will be the first to do it. Maximizing profits for Wws is about minimizing costs. The Wws propaganda machine is second to none and sadly fools many a simple mind, some people actually believe this company cares about community, have a look at the top 100 shareholders and all you will see is international corporations. Long gone are the days when the Ww was the Australian owned by mums and dads. True, a lot of mums and dads do very well as shareholders however the control and major profits go to the corporate shareholders.

There are so many valid reasons why Woolworths should decide to sell their land, scrap their DA that they bought in an odd exchange and leave Mullumbimby to develop along existing village lines.So much has been said and written and some of it has been very illinformed. Their style of monopoly is outdated Americanism and it has already destroyed vibrant commercial centres in Australia and New Zealand .It is a giant and very profitable public company whose expansion is always at the expense of existing small business. Towns and villages become empty shells and it would be so sad to think of shop closures and the end of wonderful shopping service and community. Nobody wants job opportunity diminished but it surely will be if Woolies and their automated checkouts come to town and it won't be just existing Mallams' (Woolworths) staff but owners and employees of most small business in Mullumbimby.

We form our positions according to our own experiences and often...self interests. It is sad that many people cannot look at issues like Woolworths with a broader vision.
Maleny people had the same serious divisions over whether Woolworths should 'come to town'. Those approving saw just 'another place to shop' which could perhaps be cheaper; easier parking; less waiting?
What these people failed to determine was that a change in the Village atmosphere of our small towns is something precious that once gone is not reversible.
Woolworths intentionally...not accidently...has a policy to destroy all competition. They are driven by 'market share' and their need to ever increase it so that executive bonuses are ever increasing and their feelings of self importance have no boundaries.
These ambitions are driven from the top...and any other ideas or considerations are of no importance.
People in Mullumbimby need to be aware that Woolworths will not bring them any advantages. It will not provide 'job security' for there will be no executive paternalism. Employees will be there only when they are essential. Any cheaper way of filling those roles will render them redundant, dismissed without a moments hesitation.
Smaller businesses that are run by local residents have an interest in the community. Mostly they give good service with a personal touch and support the community as they can. Living in such communities has many joys ...surely we also have a duty to support our local businesses.
Be very sure Woolworths is the wolf in your community. You let them in, it will profit YOU and your village not at all

The staff at Mallams are understandably concerned about the loss of their jobs however small local supermarkets like the current Mallams and IGA provide more supermarket jobs than large, low margin out of towners like Woolworths. Research by British supermarket chains, reported in the UK Guardian newspaper on 10 August, 2009 indicated that they cause a net loss of local jobs. It makes sense if you think about it, Woolworths makes almost $2 billion net profit a year by cutting its costs, including employment, to a minimum.

The days of industrial food are numbered. The Wws model of factory farming monoculture requires oil-based petroleum products to grow the food (fertilisers, pesiticides & fungicides), to harvest the food, to transport to and from Sydney distribution centre, to colour, flavour and preserve the food, to package the food, and petroleum-based hormones and antibiotics are fed to industrial animals. If Wws extinguish our local shops and we have to rely on them, what will we do when the oil shock comes?

Arriving in the wonderful unspoilt town of Mullimbimby for the first ever time from WA this week, I was horrified to hear that the town's unique appeal may soon be diminished by big business. I hope it's not too late to preserve this very special part of Australia - I've seen WA towns ruined by such big business which pave paradise and import food, disadvantaging small local business doing the right thing by the local community. I enjoyed supporting local stores on the high street and would avoid a homogenised supermarket experience!

deborah....your comments are so correct and succinct.
Also there will be few jobs for the locals (probably all casual) The Maleny store only required ONE open checkout. most of the time.
Don't underestimate these "big boys" They are completely ruthless. When ALL of the opposition has been removed.... watch the prices rise. Check this out in towns where they have decimated the opposition.
Check them out through google...key words...ACCC & Woolworths...fined millions for price fixing....obscene CEO salaries...fined for out of date food....makes an interesting read...especially if one is thinking of becoming an employee..OH and ask for a copy of the executives code of conduct....good luck //(*_*)\\

To the Board of unethical directors of woolworths:
which part of "you are not welcome here-ever" did you not understand?

I feel sorry for Mallams staff worried about their jobs. However, many more employees and business owners will lose their livelihoods when woolworths' big ugly box opens. Business owners in Mullum who live in the area spend money inthe area. woolworths' profits go to shareholders. over time the older employees from mallams will be replaced by younnger, cheaper toemploy staf. look at how young the kids are at woolies in Byron. woolies has a history of temporarily lowering its prices to force competitors out of business so woolworths can create a monopoly and increase prices. look at what they did to all the small photo processing shops near their sydney town hall store. forced them out of business.

i have been shopping at woolies in byron for years spending up to $300 dollars every week!, but i have not been back since this whole push for Woolies in Mullum... it is the last thing we need here...! i am going to write a letter telling Woolworths that they have lost me as a customer in any of there stores until they lay the Mullum Woolies proposal to rest... it would be good if anyone else who has been shopping in Byron did the same...

this is my letter i will be sending to all of
.... the Directors of Woolworths
Dear Sir/Madam
… I have been a regular shopper at Woolworths stores specifically Byron bay for over 10 years, and have enjoyed the service and prices, I spent on average $300 every week, but I am no longer shopping in any Woolworths stores as it is my own personal campaign against a Woolworths in Mullumbimby, as Mullum is such a precious unique small community, and the main street is the meet and greet area of town, I support the local business as much as I can, and love living here…I have grave fears for the lively hood of the local shops and indeed the integrity of the ‘centre’ of our little town if you build where you are proposing.
Please reconsider your decision, as we might be small but we are very tenacious community and will fight you till the end, which is something I am loathed to do, as I enjoyed shopping at Woolies Byron Bay. (I will say I am not so keen on the self service, it is fraught with errors and frustrations… bring back the real checkout people please! )

Ps I have no choice but to warn you that if there is no change in your planned proposal to build in Mullumbimby, I will be writing to all my local news papers to suggest others also do the same as I am.