Have your say on the Easter Sunday trading policy

Taupō District Council’s Easter Sunday Trading Policy is being reviewed and members of the public will have their say.

Since 2017, Council has had a policy in place which allows for all shops in the district to trade on Easter Sunday. Under the Shop Trading Act 1990, the policy must be reviewed after the first five years.

After discussing the matter in its August meeting, Council is proposing the Easter Sunday Trading Policy be continued as it provides clarity and ensures a level playing field across the district for all shops.

The only amendment would be to the policy’s review period. This amendment will change the review period from five to 10 years. A five-year review was previously required under the Act but is not required for subsequent Easter Sunday trading policies. While there is no requirement for a review period, Council believes 10 years is appropriate as this is best practice for ensuring the relevance of policies.

Taupō Central has an historical exemption to the Easter trading rules from 1989. The main reason for the current policy is the exemption for just the Taupō Town Centre means rules are not applied consistently across the whole district.

Council wants public feedback on the following two options before it makes a decision:

A) Adopt the amended policy: This means all shops will continue to be allowed to open on Easter Sunday in the Taupō District if they choose to.

or

B) Revoke the policy: This means only shops permitted by the act and those in the Taupō Town Centre would be permitted to open on Easter Sunday.

Have your say at www.taupo.govt.nz/haveyoursay. Submissions are open from 28 September to 31 October and a hearing will be held on Tuesday, 13 December at 11am in the Taupō District Council Chambers.