Looking back over the past weeks and to the weeks ahead – to rate the noteworthy, the cringeworthy, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the truly amazing.
Easter trading rules are a bit of a mess
For years, the rules over Easter trading have been a bit of a hodge podge with no real rhyme or reason to them. Certain businesses can trade, others can’t. Good Friday and Easter Sunday sees nearly all businesses mandated to close their doors, while others can have theirs open. You can’t buy alcohol or go for a drink in a licensed establishment, unless you purchase a meal.
I totally understand that it’s healthy to have days where the majority of Kiwis can take days off and mix with loved ones but maybe we need to strike a reasonable balance as well.
Why can a dairy open but a supermarket can’t, for instance? I don’t fully understand that logic. Online trading is open all the way through Easter but physical stores aren’t. Some regions have exemptions – such as Queenstown, while they majority do not. In saying that, I also think it’s important to value and protect workers’ rights too. It’s also important to recognise that our society is also changing.
“Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young told RNZ the inconsistent restrictions were confusing for both shoppers and retailers. ‘Stores are open in one area where you might live, then they’re not open in another area. That can be quite a surprise, she said. ‘From a business perspective, say you’re a national business, you have to be cognisant of what the specific local rules and interpretations of that legislation are for each of the holidays to make sure that you can comply appropriately.’ (Source: “What’s the deal with Easter trading?” by Esther Taunton, 29th March, www.stuff.co.nz).
2 stars – clear, reasonable, and consistent legislation would be good.
May be within the law but still petty and mean
Disputes between neighbours highlight how difficult it can be for people to get along with each other and I read a story this week that just made me feel sad. This dispute has ended up with an elderly couple’s sea view in Napier obscured by their neighbours deliberately parking used shipping containers and junked out cars on their property.
This dispute has been going on a few years and isn’t helped by one neighbour owning the land in front of the other – where they have deposited containers and cars to pettily make some point.
Despite attempts to seek legal redress through the council and the courts, the stalemate continues, with ugly impediments to a beautiful view causing emotional distress. It really is a shame that things develop like this and people can’t just sit down and work out mutually beneficial arrangements.
0 stars – however ‘legal’ it is, doing something to deliberately cause distress is woeful behaviour.
How to be respectful on public transport
I’m old enough to fondly remember the days before cell phones. Where you could go to concerts and experience the music and the occasion, rather than watch scores of upheld cellphones obscuring the view. You could travel on public transport and the only noise would be people’s conversations, rather than people talking loudly into phones, or worse still, having their phone speaker on so their conversations are needlessly broadcast to all in earshot.
Again, I understand I’m treading into curmudgeon territory here but is it really too much to ask for a world with just a modicum of respect for others?
In the past week, 1 News ran a story about general etiquette on public transport – the usual things dominated. Not kicking the seat in front of you, not putting your bags on a seat next to you when people are standing, not clipping your toenails (really, do people do that?).
The one that caught my attention was not making phone calls and it resonates with me because it is the one that annoys me the most.
“There’s something about a loud post-work-but-obviously-still-working phone call that both draws me in and repulses me at the same time. Generally, try to avoid taking phone calls or enjoying FaceTime-style conversations on public transport. (And the same goes to listening to anything on your phone without your headphones). (Source: “How not to be ‘that’ passenger: 10 basic etiquette rules for the bus, train,” 28th March, www.1news.co.nz).
1 star – consideration for others shouldn’t be some old fashioned notion.
