FREQUENT visitor to Orange Lesley Kelly was “shocked” to learn that the city, despite its tourist attractions, still maintained restricted public holiday trading on Boxing Day.
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After receiving gift cards for Myer for Christmas, the Sydney woman wanted to spend Boxing Day trawling through the sales in Orange before sitting down to lunch at one of the city’s many cafes.
However, when she drove down Summer Street on December 26 she “couldn’t believe” there was nothing open.
“We love Orange, but we couldn’t understand why all the shops were shut. It was a feeling of confusion,” Ms Kelly said.
“There were a lot of people just wandering around [Summer Street]. Anybody from out of town wouldn’t have known what was going on.”
Orange is classified as a non-tourist destination under state government retail trading legislation, which means no shops can trade on public holidays like Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday, except those that are exempt, including pharmacies and takeaway restaurants.
Ms Kelly, who visits Orange every few months, said there needed to be a change in the retail trading laws to keep the regional centre moving forward.
“I understand that it’s about keeping family with family, but surely it should be up to businesses to decide whether they open on Boxing Day, not the state government,” she said.
“It just leaves the impression that Orange is stuck in the 1970s. Orange is just so big, it’s not a small town, there’s plenty going on.”
