Todd McClay's Shop Trading Hours Act Repeal (Easter Sunday Local Choice) Amendment Bill was defeated at its first reading tonight, 62 - 59. It was a conscience vote, but Red Alert has the full list here. The margin this time was smaller than last time (62 - 59 vs 64 - 57), so it will only take a few votes to switch.
I'm a little surprised at this result - I'd expected the bill to at least make it to select committee, as it did the last two times - but also glad. While I don't give a damn about Easter, and think trading bans are a little silly, when it is repealed, it has to be done right. And that means making Easter Sunday a public holiday so that people's current de facto holiday is protected.
