Council says no to Easter Sunday Trading

Published on 28 November 2017

28 November 2017

Whanganui District Councillors decided not to opt for a Local Easter Sunday Trading policy for Whanganui, after robustly debating the issue at a Statutory Management Committee last week.

Only some shops can trade under the government legislation, but introducing a local policy would have permitted Easter Sunday trading in the district.

159 submissions were received from the community and Councillors heard from six oral submitters during hearings on 14 November 2017. Ninety-one per cent of the submissions opposed adopting a Local Easter Trading Policy.

Mayor Hamish McDouall referenced several submissions in summing up perspectives on the issue.

“We heard, for example, from individuals and organisations who recommended not opening on Sundays because of the effect on families or for religious reasons, from Foodstuffs, who said they would love to open and from a member of the Salvation Army, who supported choice for retailers who needed to work out of economic necessity.”  

Councillors also expressed differing points of view, including that both retailers and employees might feel significant pressure to open if a policy allowed Easter Sunday trading. Some felt that special days set aside from commercial activity were part of what makes countries and places unique, whether religious or otherwise.

Economic development, freedom of choice and the ability of the community to provide shopping options for visitors and families during the holiday period were reasons given for supporting a local policy.

Mayor McDouall said, “This has been a fascinating debate and at quite a high level.”     

Submissions from the public can be viewed on the Whanganui District Council website.