There is yet another attempt to liberalise our Easter trading laws and the 1st Reading of the bill will likely happen next month (July). Family First’s Director of Research Ala Pomelile explains what is the real driving force behind attempts to liberalise the law (you may be surprised – it’s not about being able to buy the basics like bread and milk over the long weekend), and how workers and families will be impacted by a reduction in public holidays. She also rebuts a number of arguments that are used by supporters of the law change, and says that the deconstruction of Easter has cultural and political consequences. We should keep the Easter culture, for the sake of our families.
There is yet another attempt to liberalise our trading laws during Easter.
The ACT party has introduced a private members bill to allow shops to open on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Here’s what ACT leader David Seymour had to say when the bill was announced.
“Easter’s a wonderful time – a long needed break after easing into the new year.”
You’ll note in that clip that there seems to be a focus not just on shops in general being able to open so that people can buy groceries, but on being able to sell alcohol. The explanatory note to the bill says
“This Bill seeks to remove an extra burden on businesses by removing the restriction on trading and selling alcohol on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.”
It’s also interesting that David Seymour starts the clip by saying “Easter’s a wonderful time – a long needed break after easing into the new year.” But not a break for workers in the retail industry.
Because it wasn’t in the coalition agreement to make this law change (perhaps because of the opposition of NZ First or perhaps because it’s always been a conscience issue which allows MPs a free vote and not according to the party line), it was introduced as a private members bill by ACT MP Cameron Luxton – and surprise surprise it has been drawn out of the biscuit tin to be debated.
Since Christopher Luxon became leader of the National Party, he too has been very supportive of a law change – although based on what he is saying, Christmas will be next
And this is not the first time it’s been debated recently. In 2021, Labour’s Kieran McAnulty put forward a Bill to abolish Easter liquor laws – once again the focus being on the alcohol aspect. Ironically the Labour party voted as a caucus against it.
The very next year, ACT MP Chris Baillie had a Bill drawn from the ballot to abolish Easter trading restrictions – which Parliament also voted down.
But ACT is back. And their private members bill has been drawn – again!
And they’re concerned about the inconsistency and the absurdity of the trading laws, but only around Easter. Radio NZ asked the right question on this, and expose a level of hypocrisy by the ACT bill.
So what does the law currently say?
Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays.
But in terms of trading, Good Friday is a restricted trading day. Easter Sunday is also a restricted trading day but shops can open depending on local council rules. And this is where a lot of the confusion and frustration has come from. Rather than a rule for the whole country, you have the weird examples of where Wanaka can’t open (like the rest of the country) but over the hill, Queenstown can.
Are all shops closed on these days? Supermarkets and liquor stores must be closed, while dairies, cafes, restaurants, services stations and pharmacies can remain open. Cafes, bars and restaurants can only serve alcohol if it’s with food (which isn’t a bad thing).
We oppose any liberalisation of Easter trading laws because workers deserve this special annual break to spend time with their families. Workers unions argue that a law change means workers lose three-and-a-half days they’re guaranteed off – Easter, Christmas and the morning of Anzac Day.
A focus on economic improvement should never come at the cost of weakening the quality and special time that families can spend together.
Anzac Day, Easter, and Christmas remain as the few times when the whole country stops and takes a break – including most of our retail workers.
And it’s interesting to note that nobody is calling for changes to Anzac Day. Everyone seemed to survived last Anzac Day when the shops were all closed for half the day.
It’s only the two Christian celebrations they seem focused on – Easter and Christmas.
Benefits of a workforce taking holidays as a nation is not quantifiable. Observing religious and cultural holidays is not quantifiable. It is also difficult to quantify the value of work life balance. Yet research shows that families want more time together, kiwis are working too long, and Easter weekend is traditionally about family reunions, family camps, family holidays, and church attendance together.
The only people who will celebrate this law change will likely be those who will make the most money from it.
Public holidays are traditions. They create rituals for families, not based on shopping but on celebrating together, reconnecting, and making memories. Polls and research have shown that both parents and children want to spend more time doing family things like picnics and holidays together. However, this is becoming increasingly difficult as the retail industry is required to work almost every day of the year, and shoppers focus on the holiday specials.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in The Politics of Hope said “Public parks make no economic sense at all. We leave a whole lot of space unbuilt on and not capitalised in any way, but that is not the reason we have them. We have parks because they do us good…. They do not make economic sense but they do us good.”
We note that the liberalisation of the trading laws in this Bill only applies to Easter. But there would be no justification for opposing the liberalisation of Christmas Day and Anzac Day. Is that the ultimate goal?
The ‘unfair advantage’ referred to has only come about because of the inconsistent application of the law – not because of the law itself. Towns do have every right to protest that neighbouring towns can stay open when they can’t. The law needs to be consistent and enforced.
The Ministry of Business, Employment and Innovation (MBIE) should enforce the legislation rather than allow traders to deliberately flout the law – and not just one year but a number of years, despite warnings. Businesses are ignoring the law because they know it’s more profitable to break the law and adhere to it.
Changes to trading laws should be done at a national level. It is the ad hoc local application of the laws that has led to the confusion and inconsistency over the past number of years.
Contrary to the claim, tourists will cope. Many countries have public holidays with shops closed, and tourists simply plan around it, accepting it as part of the local culture and identity.
New Zealanders love visiting Pacific Island nations and still manage to enjoy themselves even when everything shuts down on a Sunday. There are two days that the whole of India is closed and they are not religious days; they are the Republic Day of India and Independence Day.
Similar situations apply in other countries, for example Israel, and Islamic countries. The current law is not out of date with international experience.
The other argument is that liberalising trading laws is justified because shoppers are able to shop online over Easter, but that is a flawed argument. If it was a valid argument, retailers in NZ would have to be open 24/7 to compete with the online market.
There is the argument that this is an issue of choice, and that workers who want to work can, but those that don’t can’t be forced to. For many workers and even business owners, they don’t have the luxury of choice as to whether they work or not. Coercion by employers on employees will also be strong.
This is not about a religious holiday time relevant to only a proportion of the population. Anzac Day is also a day where shops must remain closed and has nothing to do with Christian celebrations. Many families do not observe the religious association with Christmas Day but it is still an important and vital family time in our culture.
However, the deconstruction of Easter does have cultural and political consequences. It is another example of the de-Christianisation of Western civilization that is going on all around us.
The word ‘holiday’ emerged in the English language in 15th century Britain. It came from Old English haligdæg, which meant ‘holy day, religious anniversary, Sabbath, or consecrated day.’ The Old English word halig meant ‘holy,’ while ‘dæg’ meant ‘day.’
Sadly, tradition is becoming less meaningful in our culture, although ironically Matariki was introduced by the last Labour government claiming it is “rich in tradition”.
That introduction may illustrate the underlying desire (deliberate or subliminal) to repaganise New Zealand.
We should maintain Good Friday and Easter Sunday as restricted trading days.
We should keep the culture. For the sake of our families.
