The Australian Retailers Association, ARA, has rejected as xenophobic the comments by the head of a rival retail group supporting the suggestion that full face hijabs should be removed on entry to a bank or shop for security reasons.

The comments were made by a Brisbane radio announcer and backed up Scott Driscoll, executive director of the industry body the Queensland Retail Traders and Shopkeepers Association, QRTSA, causing concern among community groups and peak industry body the Australian Retailers Association.  ARA executive director Richard Evans, said the association takes retail security very seriously but believes the idea of banning the hijab or any cultural clothing to allow entry into retail environments is misguided, uneducated fear mongering and disturbing in its nature.

We understand banks and many other retail environments such as petrol stations display signs to ask customers to remove full faced motorcycle helmets and hoodies yet Mr Driscoll’s comments are extreme and harking back to a day when xenophobia was rife and serves to create a culture of angst, anger and mistrust, Evans said.No one who takes the rich culture of modern Australia seriously would diminish themselves by suggesting cultural or custom clothing is a security risk. This is subliminal xenophobic behaviour and it saddens to have someone from a respected Queensland retail organisation not realise the consequences of such lazy speech, he added.