Be Kind in Retail campaign, Australia’s leading retail safety and respect campaign, returned on 4 November, as the retail industry unites to tackle unacceptable behaviour towards workers and promote safer, more respectful retail environments. Customer aggression, abuse and violence remain a serious concern for Australia’s retail industry. Research published by the Australian Retail Council highlights the scale of the challenge, with 51 per cent of retailers reporting physical abuse monthly or more frequently, and 87 per cent of retail workers reporting experiencing verbal abuse. The impact extends across the workforce, including retail and pharmacy team members, security officers, cleaners, convenience and fuel attendants, and shopping centre staff. These workers should never have to accept abuse, intimidation or aggression as part of their job. With an industry investment valued at more than $10 million, from 4 November across the busy Christmas shopping period, Be Kind in Retail campaign advertising will appear across more than 2700 locations, including more than 400 shopping centres, reaching millions of Australians as they shop. The campaign is a joint-industry initiative supported by the Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA), the Australian Retail Council (ARC), the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the Australian Security Industry Association Limited (ASIAL), the Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) and the Building Service Contractors Association of Australia (BSCAA), with the support of a growing coalition of retail partners. Be Kind in Retail aims to address unacceptable behaviour towards workers by encouraging a simple but powerful message: kindness and respect should be the standard in every retail environment. The industry has deliberately chosen a positive, behaviour-focused message. SCCA research indicates that positive messaging can be an effective way to influence behaviour, making respect the central theme of the campaign rather than focusing solely on negative conduct. The Be Kind in Retail campaign is an example of industry-led collaboration in action, demonstrating how businesses and industry associations can work together to promote safer workplaces and improve the experience of workers and customers alike. Alongside Be Kind in Retail, the industry is working with governments and police to deliver practical results, including stronger action against illicit tobacco, Workplace Protection Orders and coordinated retail crime strategies and operations. Operation Percentile in NSW, Operation Measure in South Australia and Operation Pulse in Victoria demonstrate the impact of industry, government and law enforcement working together to target offenders, disrupt criminal activity and make retail environments safer. Be Kind in Retail is about making respect towards workers in retail settings part of everyday life. Whether someone is working in a shopping centre, serving customers at a supermarket, refueling a vehicle, cleaning a food court or working as a security guard, they deserve to be treated with kindness. By bringing this message to thousands of shopping centres and retail locations across Australia, we are working together to encourage better behaviour and help create safer, more respectful workplaces. Angus Nardi, SCCA chief executive Checking with all the reasonable people Oh, Reasonable People! A few weeks back I wrote you an Ode (Wangaratta Chronicle, Wednesday 9 September). I hope you liked it and that you felt seen and heard, out there in the realm of decent, good folk 'who give a damn'. I have no doubt that you fabulous Reasonable People are still in shock and processing deep grief, as we all grapple with the random, senseless and violent attack on our Helen. “Helen is the best of us” - have we ever witnessed such a universal outpouring of love and admiration for a politician? As Helen fights to heal, so we must unite with Reasonable People everywhere to keep our democracy strong, maintain high expectations of decent, respectful debate and to keep asking ourselves - “what would Helen do?” I feel pretty confident that Helen would be considered, kind, thorough and reasonable, all the while displaying tenacity, empathy, compassion and next level intelligence. We need as many ‘Helens’ as we can muster in our government - both at state and federal levels. Therefore you should be feeling excited that we have Steve Manning as our values-led, community Independent running in the Ovens Valley electorate on 28 November. Steve is fully endorsed by Helen and also by Cathy McGowan. Helen and her family have expressed their unequivocal desire for Steve to succeed - so what would Helen do? She would vote for Steve Manning and I urge all you Reasonable People out there to do the same. Jacquie Walpole, Whorouly South Enjoy a soiree at Morrison's and support Oxfam A soiree to be held at Morrison's Winery, Glenrowan, on Friday evening, 13 November is being conducted on behalf of the Wangaratta Group of Oxfam. Those attending will not only enjoy the ambience of the winery, with canapés and wines included in the entry, but also the delights of a musical quartet, Simply Strings, whose members include musicians from the acclaimed Wangaratta Symphony Orchestra. We are delighted that Morrisons are able to open their winery for this event, as a gesture of goodwill to Oxfam. The local group has conducted a soiree biannually in recent years, mainly in extensive private gardens in and around Wangaratta, where the events have been well supported. The Wangaratta Oxfam fund raising efforts are currently supporting clean water projects in communities overseas where water quality is so poor as to create major health issues, including high infant mortality rates. There are still tickets available by contacting 0417 224 623. Donna Samon, president Wangaratta Group of Oxfam
