Five Million Voices

Should the trading and alcohol-sale restrictions on Good Friday and Easter Sunday be removed so shops and venues can open and sell alcohol on those days?

This member's bill would remove provisions in the Shop Trading Hours Act and the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act that restrict shop trading and alcohol sales on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The bill was defeated at first reading.

MPs’ arguments for and against the bill

Why support it
  • Supporters argued the bill simplifies a confusing patchwork of council-by-council rules that they said confuses tourists and locals and led some councils to allow trading outside the law.
  • Supporters said it gives businesses and workers more choice, noting no business would be forced to open and that the right to refuse work would be extended to Good Friday as a second discretion day.
  • Supporters argued the existing alcohol rules, such as requiring a substantial meal with a drink, are cumbersome and that businesses face uneven enforcement and fines while online retailers face no such restrictions.
Why oppose it
  • Opponents argued the restrictions protect workers' time for rest and family by reducing pressure to work, which they said is worth preserving.
  • Opponents said the current balance—restrictions on two of the four Easter days—is about right and that business flexibility is not significantly curtailed by the existing rules.
  • Opponents placed the bill in a wider context of measures they viewed as reducing workers' entitlements and said they did not want to see further rollback of workers' rights to time off.

These are claims MPs made in Parliament’s debate — not verified facts.

Full bill summary & link to official bill page

This member's bill removes Good Friday and Easter Sunday from the list of "restricted trading days" in the Shop Trading Hours Act and eases the related restrictions in the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act. In practice this would let shops open and trade on those two days as they do on ordinary days, and allow alcohol to be sold more freely, replacing the current patchwork of area-by-area exemptions with a single consistent rule. It affects retailers, hospitality businesses, their staff, and shoppers.

It is an ACT MP's member's bill (Cameron Luxton). The main arguments in favour are consistency and simplicity, extra revenue for retail and tourism, and consumer choice, ending a confusing exemptions regime that treats similar towns differently. The main arguments against are that Easter provides a rare shared day off that protects workers' time with family, that the days carry religious and cultural significance for many, and that liberalised trading can pressure staff to work; worker protections such as the right to refuse are part of the debate.

See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.

Oppose (No) Support (Yes)

Repeal of Good Friday and Easter Sunday as Restricted Trading Days (Shop Trading and Sale of Alcohol) Amendment Bill · First Reading, 17 Dec 2024
Before Parliament now.