We’ve always known it’s a beautiful area – great to see so many tourists think the same!

The lure of fishing in our pristine waters, magician and illusionist Cosentino performing at Magic Mountain and the Four Winds Festival a bit further north were huge drawcards for the region.

And that’s on top of the usual popularity the Far South Coast enjoys from holidaymakers keen on camping, hiking, unwinding – and perhaps a bit of shopping. 

Businesses would likely have seen plenty of foot traffic over the weekend – from locals and visitors alike – given the number of people in town.

However, not everyone was open for trade.

With Easter Sunday falling outside a school holiday period, the Retail Trading Act 2008 would have meant larger stores throughout the Bega Valley Shire had to be closed for the day unless they had sought and been granted an exemption.

Petrol stations, fresh produce, takeaway food outlets and chemists are among those usually exempt from forced closures. As are small businesses with four or fewer employees.

Despite Eden retailers and cafes reportedly catering well for the large number of people in town by remaining open – and anything closed was possibly because they would normally close Sundays anyway – we understand there was plenty of confusion before the weekend.

Particularly Thursday when the local information centres reported a lot of locals dropping in trying to work out what was happening regarding holiday trading.

It’s no good finding out at the last minute stores are entitled to open or could have sought exemptions prior. 

And while it’s not necessarily the council’s responsibility to seek these exemptions on behalf of businesses, perhaps it could have been proactive last month and sought the shire-wide exemption Andrew Constance pulled out at the 11^th hour.

It's an archaic system – this is a holiday town. 

Businesses need to know where they stand so they can organise shifts, ensure sufficient stock and advertise their opening hours. 

A discussion on holiday penalty rates we’ll leave for another day.