Easter Sunday Trading starts this year
13 March, 2018
Shops in the Western Bay will have the option of opening on Easter Sunday this year.
A decision to allow Easter Sunday trading was made by Western Bay of Plenty District Council in December last year.
Public consultation on whether shops should have the option of trading on Easter Sunday resulted in 54 submissions to Council of which 67 percent were in support.
Western Bay Mayor Garry Webber says Council's decision is all about choice.
Allowing shops to trade on Easter Sunday enables retailers to have the choice to open and gives our residents and visitors the choice to shop in our towns on a holiday weekend.
On the other hand, staff members who do not wish to work on Easter Sunday are under no obligation to do so -the law protects their right not to work.''
Garry says retailers are operating in an increasingly competitive marketplace - with online opportunities for people to shop 24/7 - so Easter Sunday trading gives them an additional opportunity to open their doors.
Western Bay retailers in the District asked Council to allow shops to trade following a change to the Shop Trading Hours Act last year, which gave councils the ability to develop their own policy to enable Easter Sunday trading.
Western Bay's policy aligns with that of several other councils, including Tauranga City.
Until now it has been against the law to trade on Easter Sunday, except for a small range of shops exempt under the Act.
The decision to allow retail trade applies only to Easter Sunday, not to Good Friday, ANZAC Day or Christmas Day.
