Easter trading debacle as local policies lapse

Seven local councils have allowed their Easter Sunday trading policies to lapse.

This information was discovered by ACT MP Cameron Luxton and reported by RNZ today.

"A law change in 2016 gave local councils the option to set their own Easter Sunday trading policies, on the condition that they must review those rules within five years of implementation," explains Mr Luxton. "Failing that, the policies are revoked after another two years.

"ACT has been made aware of seven councils that have allowed Easter Trading policies to lapse, perhaps unwittingly. And in six of those cases, the policies lapsed prior to Easter Sunday on 31 March 2024, meaning traders this year risked enforcement action from the Labour Inspectorate."

• Opotiki District Council – the policy lapsed in March 2024 (prior to Easter).

• Wairoa District Council – the policy lapsed in March 2024 (prior Easter).

• Kawerau District Council – the policy lapsed in February 2024 (prior to Easter).

• Marlborough District Council – the policy lapsed in March 2024 (just after Easter).

• Queenstown Lakes District Council – the policy lapsed in March 2024 (prior to Easter).

• Westland District Council – the policy lapsed on 15 March 2024 (prior to Easter).

• Grey District Council – the policy lapsed on 21 March 2024 (prior to Easter).

The full list of local Easter Sunday trading policies can be found here.

“It’s always been difficult to keep track of the complicated patchwork of local Easter Trading rules, and now we learn even the councils themselves are struggling to keep up with their obligations under the law,” says Mr Luxton.

“My member’s bill to reform Easter Trading would restore simplicity and sanity to the law, replacing local policies with a nationwide setting in which businesses and workers can choose for themselves whether to trade.”