Council seeking Easter Sunday direction
4 July 2017
Waipa residents will be asked to say yes or no to shops trading on Easter Sunday.
At today's Strategic Planning and Policy Committee meeting, Waipa District Councillors agreed to ask the community whether or not the Council should change the rules and allow Easter Sunday trading in the Waipa district.
If the Council decides no, the status quo will remain and most Waipa shops will not be allowed to trade on that day.
If the Council decides yes, shops will be allowed to trade if they wish to. No shop would be forced to open and by law, shop employees could refuse to work, without having to give a reason. If trading was allowed the Council could not decide what types of shops might open or control the opening hours of those shops.
Waipa is one of the last councils in the greater Waikato to consult on the issue after the Government decided to leave the decision up to all 79 individual councils in New Zealand. Hauraki, Waikato, Matamata-Piako and Thames-Coromandel District Councils have already said yes to Easter Sunday trading in their districts. Hamilton City Council will decide later this month.
Council has organised a series of public sessions for the community to drop by and discuss the issue with sessions to be advertised in local papers. People will also be able to provide feedback online, via social media, and on printed forms available from Council offices and libraries. A formal hearing, for those who wish to address elected members, will be held on 5 September.
Feedback will be open from Thursday 13 July to Monday 14 August. A decision on whether or not to allow Easter Sunday trading in the Waipa district will be made by the Council in October with any new rules in place by Easter 2018.
Any change would not affect Good Friday (which will remain a non-trading day) or Easter Monday.
Media enquiries, contact Jeanette Tyrrell 027 5077 599