Editorial: Time for consistent Easter trading rule

How was your Good Friday?

Chances are you had the day off work, especially if you're in the retail sector.

That's because the law says shops must be closed on Good Friday and Easter Sunday or risk being prosecuted.

In this day and age it seems a little heavy-handed for a government to tell businesses when they can and can't open.

And in Rotorua it's galling to see other tourist spots such as Taupo and Queenstown enjoy an exemption that allows their shops to open on those holidays.

If you're going to allow exceptions to the rule then at least apply them consistently.

I don't need to tell you that Rotorua is a top destination for tourists, both domestic and international.

And this long Easter weekend the town is full of visitors.

What a joke to greet them with closed signs all over town.

Prime Minister John Key admitted two years ago that Easter trading laws were a shambles.

Yet time and time again efforts to apply some consistency are thwarted in Parliament's conscience vote.

In the past 20 years, Parliament has attempted to change New Zealand's Easter trading regulations 14 times.

Rotorua MP Todd McClay says the law is outdated and unfair, and that the people of Rotorua should be able to decide the issue for themselves.

He points out the cost of policing "this antiquated piece of legislation" far outweighs the fines gained through prosecuting offending businesses.

In 2009, Mr McClay's Private Member's Bill on Easter trading failed by three conscience votes, 62 votes to 59.

Arguments that these collective days of rest should be maintained by law - put forward by religious groups and unions - again prompt questions about consistency.

Why just shops? Why not ban newspapers, service stations, tourist attractions, TV newsreaders, real estate agents, video shops and the like from operating?

Many businesses already decide not to open on certain days, given the increased operating cost of statutory holidays through time and a half and a day in lieu for staff.

But at least they get to decide.

It's time our politicians demonstrate the commonsense required to allow retailers in tourist towns like Rotorua to enjoy the same freedoms as those just down the road.

To continue to deny our businesses is hypocrisy.