Beaumont Carol: Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Beaumont Carol: Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill — First Reading 
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CAROL BEAUMONT (Labour) 
: 
 I too rise to oppose the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill which has been put forward by Todd McClay. It may come as a surprise to Mr McClay but my view is that people do not go to Rotorua on Easter weekend to go shopping. I think they probably go to Rotorua to do other things. Maybe they want to go to the hot pools or perhaps they want look at the amazing natural features—the lakes perhaps. There are many things to see and there is a very interesting history there. In fact if they really do want to shop there are at least two days on Easter weekend when they can do so. That is the first point. 
I do not think that there is really a problem to be addressed here. I think it is naive to say these two things: that this issue is about choice—that everybody has a free choice—and that shops will open on Easter Sunday only in particular areas where everybody agrees to that. I have to say that both those comments are very very naive. I noticed that during the debate on this bill Simon Bridges was interjecting “Mount Maunganui next!” and that is the reality. We know—and we can see it if we look at the history—that when shop trading hours were liberalised in this country within a very short period indeed shops went to full opening on Saturdays Sundays and evenings very very quickly throughout New Zealand. So I do not buy the argument that this is about choice and will happen only in certain locations. Shops with few exceptions now trade 361½ days per year. New Zealand has one of the most liberal shop trading regimes in the world. 
I will give a small history lesson because I have had a long association with the retail industry and with retail workers. The history is that in 1990 most shops could not trade on any Sunday and they were unable to open on nine of the 11 recognised public holidays. Now they can trade on 51 out of 52 Sundays and on every public holiday except Good Friday Christmas Day and the morning of Anzac Day. That year was the occasion when Rotorua went from not having any of those things to gaining all of that time for shops to be open. We are still arguing about whether shops should also be able to open on Easter Sunday. 
Frankly I will have no difficulty at all voting against this bill. It will not be as members opposite try to argue just about unionists. It is not. As my colleague Darien Fenton has said churches oppose these changes as does Family First which is not normally an organisation I have a great deal in common with. Many many people and organisations oppose this change and it is because Easter is a very significant holiday in New Zealand. It is significant for a range of reasons. It is significant because it has religious significance for many. Its family significance is very very important as is its community significance. Let us look at the number of events whether they be anniversaries reunions or sporting events that take place over Easter weekend. That is because the holiday provides an opportunity for many workers and many families to get together. 
Retail workers are a not insignificant proportion of our workforce. As Ms Fenton said there are 267000 retail workers. Mr McClay says that they cannot be forced to work. That might be technically true but often they are vulnerable workers. That is partly because many of them are young and many of them are in very casualised situations but it is for other reasons as well. In many shops the staffing levels are very very tight. There is not a whole pool of people who could be there working. Secondly many of those workers get a lot of pressure direct or indirect to work because if they do not they are not team players and because they recognise that if they do not it will put pressure on their colleagues. So there are a lot of dynamics in shops as I am sure Mr McClay would discover if he took the time to talk to retail workers. Retail workers have consistently fought against further liberalisation of our shop trading hours. That is because they want to spend time with their family and friends and take part in community events.