Easter Trading Nonsense

Easter Trading Nonsense

Despite recent efforts of politicians to fix shopping law anomalies, Easter Shopping laws mean that holiday visitors to Taupo will be able to go shopping, those in Rotorua won’t, Queenstown can but Wanaka, it seems, won’t.

There is no better example of stupid law making and collective political failure to fix bad law than the annual Easter Shopping conundrum, said Michael Barnett, chief executive of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce.

It is clearly unfair that under present laws only dairies, petrol stations and ready-to-eat food outlets such as cafes can open on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day morning, even though they sell goods - books, clothes & shoes, hardware and even jewellery – that are the usual trade for specialist stores banned from opening, he said.

He was commenting on a news report of one store owner who is considering opening even though they might be breaking the law.

“It is stupid to have a law on when shops can open or not open. It is even more stupid to have a law that says some shops can open and other can’t – let the market decide,” said Mr Barnett.

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