It seems West Australian's don't want extended trading hours.
I voted 'Yes' and 'No' in the referendum (Yes - extend week day trading to 9.00pm and No - to allow Sunday trading for 6 hours).
That is a surprising outcome for a scoiety that is increasingly demanding 'on-tap' convenience. Perth has also been labelled "Dullsville", and I often miss shopping time because of the hours I work.
But its a welcome outcome - all the same. People are thinking, I guess, and are saying we "dont want commerce to rule our lives", lets have and keep atleast some boundaries. Possibly, also there is an element of people wanting to protect the "under-dog" (small business) typical of the Australian psyche.
My "No on Sundays" vote is no reflection on my defining the Sabbath. The 'Sabbath' could well be a Saturday if a persons conviction is that they should keep a regualar day of rest in alignment with the times the Israelites were commanded to keep. My personal conviction is that of Romans 14, that Sabbath is any-time, spent in rest, in recreation (in the true sense of the word) or Chilling-out with God. It could be anytime.
On the other hand, it is good to keep a regular time or day - sort of like giving away a proportion or first-fruit of your income, lest we forget our top-priorities and let day to day activities (and lower priorities) tend to overwhelm us. (And admittedly, busy weekends tend to overwhelm me too). (Note to self must get finances and reflection time back in alignment with priorities).
It is not good to externally regualate or even protect a Christain lifestyle - it our behaviours should be a manifestation of the values of our hearts. However, boundaries that allow us time for work and trading, and time for leisure are not necessrily bad either.
So, I see the election outcome as positive on a number of counts.
1) We still have some boundaries with regards to our time and our commercial activities, although if this changes in the future I guess we will just have to self-regulate in alignment with our priorities.
2) And the positive for the State election - It appears that there are no Greens elected!
So for now its No!, No! and defintely No! Greens.
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hi, you mean after all these years, the shops in Perth still close at 6pm (except on Fris, right?)? I was at uwa from 93-96, and it seems shopping habits are still the same. I wonder why shopping hours have to be regulated by the government at all? Since WA is a free market, shouldn't shops decide themselves to close whenever it's sensible?
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