Easter Trading Set To Be A Mess

Easter Trading Set To Be A Mess, Despite Parliament’s Recent Debates

laws around Easter trading remain a mess despite extensive parliamentary debate in December, when Rotorua MP Todd McClay’s private members’ bill on Easter trading, promoting Local choice, narrowly failed. The status quo is not good enough,” says Cameron Brewer, chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association.

“Parliament has put Easter trading in the too hard basket, and so this Easter is once again set to be a headache. MPs need to get their heads out of the sand and confront the raft of outdated laws, anomalies, and historic exemptions that surround Easter trading. This is not going away or getting any better.

“This is not about opening up all the shops across the country as our surveys show the average city retailer doesn’t actually want to open. Rather, this is providing a level playing field and consistency, particularly with tourist towns. Sorting it all out is long overdue.

“It’s crazy that visitor destinations like Queenstown and Taupo can trade, but Rotorua, Mt Maunganui and Wanaka can't and desperately want to. Our tourist towns have been hit by the international recession and want to be able to make hay when the sun shines.

“Todd McClay’s bill was about empowering local communities to make up their own minds about opening on Easter Sunday. Since 1990 there have been about 10 attempts to change the shop trading laws, but McClay’s legislation was probably the best. It meant those communities that really wanted to open could and those that did want to, wouldn’t have to. Such legislation could work well under Auckland’s Super City model, as it could be a local board decision.

“There also remain silly anomalies that see the likes of Parnell being allowed to trade on Easter Sunday because it has got an historic exemption. What’s more it’s bizarre that since 2001 garden centres can open on Easter Sunday, but hardware stores like Mitre 10 that sell plants, can’t.

“Last year most of the retailers that faced $1,000 fines after Department of Labour inspectors caught them open were garden centres. Some others were music shops. Again, this is where it is silly because you can buy a CD from a BP service station but not a CD shop.

This coming weekend Department of Labour officers will be out fining Rotorua retailers but not Taupo ones. It remains a complete circus. Despite Rotorua now welcoming international flights and wanting to open, it will again be forced to shut this Easter. Our tourist towns have been failed by parliament when they needed help the most. Let’s not forget our tourist towns are the bread and butter and shop window of our biggest industry,” says Cameron Brewer.

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