TAMWORTH residents have shown that even in an age of rampant consumerism they still believe family should come first at Christmas time.
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On Boxing Day, Tamworth’s deserted CBD stood in stark contrast to the chaotic scenes in capital cities induced by post-Christmas sales fever.
Not even the major supermarkets opened their doors to provide a lifeline to people who had run out of Christmas lunch leftovers to eat.
But, according to followers of The Leader’s Facebook page, that is exactly the way it should remain.
Asked whether retailers should open on Boxing Day, respondents were almost unanimous in their condemnation of the idea.
Sheilagh Gatt said Boxing Day should “remain a day of rest, recreation and families and friends reuniting and enjoying each other’s company”.
Tamworth woman Jane Gaskin was also of the view shops should stay closed, saying: “Everyone should be able to spend at least a couple of days with family. My God, haven’t people got anything better to do than shop?”
Hannah Mann, who works in the retail sector, summed up the views of many in the industry when she said working public holidays was a tremendous burden.
“(It) should remain a day of rest,” she said. “Retail workers have families too. We are only officially shut 4.5 days of the year.”
Local man Geoffrey Ward even went as far as calling for other centres around Australia to follow Tamworth’s lead.
“Not only should regional stores remain closed, the openings in Sydney, etcetera, should be reversed,” he said.
“The post-Christmas sales, which run all of January anyway, can easily start one day later.”
Tamworth’s steadfast anti-trading stance even drew admiration from Queenslander Beth Valentine.
“How utterly refreshing to read about a town that is preserving family first still,” she said. “Retail is horrific on family life and celebration times.”
But Tamworth Business Chamber president Tim Coates said he believed retailers should be able to choose whether they opened or not.
“There’s always people looking to earn money, there’s always people looking to spend money and there’s always people looking for something else to do,” he said.
“People can click online and buy if they want to on Boxing Day, so why shouldn’t other stores be able to compete if they wish to?”
Last year the O’Farrell government pushed strongly to lift Boxing Day trade restrictions on all businesses in the state, but later abandoned the idea in the wake of public pressure.
Under the existing law, only stores in Sydney’s CBD, popular tourist spots and those with special exemptions are allowed to open on Boxing Day in NSW.
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