Government Should Go Further on Shopping Hours

24 August 2015

Government Should Go Further on Shopping Hours Says Retail NZ

Retail NZ has welcomed reports that the Government is moving to provide greater flexibility around shop trading hours on Easter Sunday, but has also called for the Government to go further in allowing New Zealanders to choose when they shop.

“Outdated 1989 legislation tries to ban shopping in-store on certain days,” Retail NZ Chief Executive Mark Johnston said today. “The old legislation is seriously out of date, is riddled with exemptions that make it nonsensical, and ignores the fact that customers can now shop 24/7 over the Internet.

It’s great news for shoppers and retailers alike that more flexibility is being proposed, but there is a place for considering whether the Government has any place in 2015 regulating shopping hours, outside the ANZAC Day remembrance period.

“Shopping is a now a family pastime. Kiwis love to shop, and the Government shouldn’t be trying to regulate when that happens. No matter what the day, nobody should be forced to shop, no shops should be forced to open, and no employees should be forced to work.

Mr Johnston also has concerns about delegating decision-making to local authorities. “Retail NZ would prefer to see a national approach, rather than having decision-making delegated to local authorities. Bylaw processes across every local authority region will create significant cost for ratepayers and compliance cost for business. In a nation of less than five million people, it’s hard to see why a national approach is not feasible.”

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