Easter has continued to be an issue for hospitality operators, prompting industry leaders to call for amendments to restrictions.
Hospitality New Zealand (Hospitality NZ) has called for Members of Parliament to send Cameron Luxton’s member’s bill proposing to remove trading restrictions over Easter weekend to the Select Committee.
The Repeal of Good Friday and Easter Sunday as Restricted Trading Days (Shop Trading and Sale of Alcohol) Amendment Bill has had its first reading in Parliament, which has prompted interest from industry leaders and associations.
Hospitality NZ said that the Easter Trading rules as they stand are not fit for purpose. The Easter Holiday weekend is comprised of four days of trade, each with a completely different set of rules as to how hospitality (and retail) can trade.
Furthermore, some regions have different rules, leading to a patchwork of Easter Trading restrictions up and down the country.
Hospitality NZ Chief Executive Steve Armitage said that these restrictions are a bone of contention for operators and customers alike every Easter weekend.
“The rules are confusing, illogical and require a significant amount of education for both operators and patrons,” said Armitage.
“Easter Trading reform is important for hospitality as it provides choice for operators, and allows them to decide whether or not to operate over the holiday weekend. Removing these operational restrictions enables them to maximise trade if they wish to do so, and clarifies a dated and confusing piece of legislation.”
Armitage added that he saw these amendments as strengthening worker rights across the long weekend, as existing protections for workers to refuse to work on the Sunday will be expanded to Good Friday.
“For those who wish to work over this weekend, it means they will be able to. We encourage party leaders to enable their MPs to exercise their conscience vote and are encouraging MPs to send this Bill to Select Committee, to allow the public to debate the merits of Easter trading reform.”
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