Brian Rudman: Easter trading laws are beyond belief

The Easter Show was open, but precious little else was in New Zealand's largest city. Photo / Steven McNicholl

On Good Friday and Easter Sunday it was perfectly legal for me to drive across town to the Royal Easter Show, gorge myself ill on candyfloss, and gamble away my money on such so-called games of skill as "Pluck a Duck" and "Flip a Frog".

But woe betide the supermarket which dared open its doors to sell me a toilet - or bread - roll.

Once again we've been through the time that transcends all understanding, the annual Easter trading laws fiasco.

The two days a year when a weekend market on Wellington's harbourside can open, but a farmers' market in Hamilton is threatened with a fine of up to $1000 for each stall that opens.

A time when Parnell and Queenstown shops could open, but not their competitors in neighbouring Newmarket and Wanaka.

When I last counted, there had been at least 11 attempts by parliamentarians from both sides of the House to rationalise and secularise this law over the past 20 years, and apart from the odd concessionary tinkering, they have all failed.

Every time, the two major parties have been fearful of standing up to the high priests of Christianity and organised labour.

The return of a friend from Brisbane, who'd popped across the Tasman for a holiday break, was a reminder that this is not a uniquely New Zealand problem.

Yesterday, he told me his sad tale of how on Friday, after traipsing for hours around the sights of Brisbane's south bank, he'd returned to his hotel to discover he could get a refreshing beer only if he ordered a proper meal as well.

A quick search on the internet reveals that we have the Poms to thank for this. Where ever the empire went, so did these daft laws. Australia and New Zealand retain them for sure.

But Canada is equally bad. As for Ireland, the big story last weekend was that the pubs in Limerick got a court order giving them dispensation to break the countrywide ban on opening on Good Friday.

The occasion was a rugby match between Munster and Leinster.

I don't know what happens in India these days, but back in the mists of time when I was backpacking around Asia, I recall waking on Christmas Day in Bombay - now Mumbai - to an eerie quietness.

Peeking out the window, it was as though the end of the world had come. The streets were deserted.

In a land of just about every religion but Christianity, they'd held on to their former rulers' religious holidays, complete with all the po-faced solemnity that went with it.

Hopefully they've got over it by now, if only because their former masters certainly have. You can now drink and gamble and shop until you drop on a British Good Friday.

Easter Sunday, though, falls foul of the year-round ban on Sunday trading.

As for the United States, which among developed countries probably has more declared Christians a head than any other, the God of commerce rules supreme and just about everything remains open.

In a wrap-up of what was and wasn't open on Good Friday , the Christian Science Monitor noted that because it was not a federal holiday - Christmas is the only religious holiday on that list of 11 - post offices were not only open, but postmen delivered the mail.

Banks, federal government facilities and most businesses kept going. Many public schools and universities also opened.

So even if New Zealand were a hotbed of religious fervour the US example demonstrates that belief and shopping can go hand in hand.

But we can't even use faith as a justification for our silly laws. In a poll by Massey University social scientists, only 35 per cent of New Zealanders described themselves as religious.

While 53 per cent said they believed in a God, half of these people had their doubts, or believed in a God "some of the time, but not at others".

The last Labour Government's refusal to remove these vestigial reminders of the bad old days when every weekend was closed was not about religion.

It bowed to the unionists within its ranks who argued against taking away a paid public holiday from their members.

Within the business community, many smaller businesses, especially owner-operator enterprises, also see the disadvantages to themselves of losing a compulsory day off.

But there are ways around these legitimate concerns. The anomalies of the present law make it a laughing stock.

Garden and record shops break the ban, knowing their defiance will get them free advertising on television worth much more than the $1000 fine they risk.

On Sunday, I met an overseas acquaintance for lunch. With many of the city's restaurants closed, we opted for the restaurant in a downtown hotel and a good choice it was.

But no doubt because of the confusion surrounding the trading laws, our small party of four were the only customers. How daft was that.

Outside, hordes of bored people wandered aimlessly up and down Queen St and the adjacent shopping precincts. The coffee shops seemed full, everywhere else was closed.

The Labour Government at least had the excuse of having to listen to its union members.

National doesn't have that fig leaf to hide behind.

It's time it showed some leadership, removed the anomalies, and declared the Easter holidays shopping days like any other.