Media Release: Retailers Disappointed that Parliament Rejected Shop Trading Hours Changes

5 May 2004

"We are shattered that Parliament failed to adopt reasonable and sensible changes to shop trading hour restrictions," says John Albertson, Chief Executive of the New Zealand Retailers Association. "This matter has been wasting Parliament's time for more than five years."

He was responding to the vote in Parliament today that narrowly defeated the Bill amending the Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal Act recommended by the Commerce Select Committee.

The Committee largely accepted the recommendations of the working group set up by the Minister of Labour last year to find a solution to the issue that had divided the House each year since 1999. It comprised consumer, retailer, local government and union representatives and agreed on minor changes to the law to allow some extension to trading hours with tight restrictions to protect staff and leaseholders who did not want to work on the day.

"The proposed changes were modest and only affected Easter Sunday. The current law is outdated and reinforces anomalies affecting retailers in several areas of the country and in sectors like hardware and food retailing that are very different now from 1990 when the law was last changed," Albertson says.

"This is a shortsighted decision that will inevitably lead to widespread disobedience and defiance of the law next Easter. We again saw this happen in several parts of the country this year. It didn't need to happen and the changes endorsed by the Select Committee would have largely overcome the problem. It is very disappointing.  We can only continue to press for sensible change."

-end-

Further Information: 

John Albertson     027 445 9400
Chief Executive Officer
jalbertson@retail.org.nz

Cliff Daly     025 371 391
Industrial Relations Consultant
cdaly@retail.org.nz 

 Barry Hellberg     021 673 480
Government Relations Consultant
bhellberg@retail.org.nz

New Zealand Retailers Association Inc, National Office
Level 8, Willbank House, 57 Willis Street, Wellington. 
www.retail.org.nz