There have been some very troubling developments for salon owners in Australia in recent months. Three states have passed legislation or regulations that ban the use of commercial tanning systems. In one state, the government has actually started confiscating the beds!
Led by Australian business owner Fiona Gamble, the ITA has been working with an international group of men and women that includes Gary Lipman, who has headed this international effort from the United Kingdom, Steve Gilroy from Canada and Bart Bonn from the ASA, to respond.
After being briefed by Fiona on the fight that she is almost single-handedly waging across Australia, I’m reminded of some of the state legislative fights our industry has conducted over the years here in the U.S. These include dealing with legislative and regulatory bodies that already believe the worst about our industry or have made up their minds before hearing our side; difficulty in finding a champion among the elected officials; division in the ranks on strategy or how to address the threat; and the most serious problem, the costs associated with the battle.
It is distressing to hear another case of a person trying so hard to save his or her business in the face of such difficult odds.
Because our working group understands that a ban of this kind will embolden our opponents and encourage similar efforts in Europe and North America, we want to do all we can to support our friends in Australia. I also know that in previous years, ITA member companies have helped finance the fight in Australia, but with little success. Unfortunately, our efforts this time may be too little, too late.
There is a powerful lesson to be learned from the state of the tanning industry in Australia. In the U.S. as state and Federal governments have incrementally placed additional restrictions on our businesses, I have heard numerous people say they will never outlaw indoor tanning here. I’ll bet they thought that in Australia, too.
Thanks,
John Overstreet
