“New Zealand’s archaic Easter Trading Laws are a pain for business owners and consumers alike. It’s time to get rid of them,” says ACT’s Small Business spokesperson Chris Baillie.

“I had a Member’s Bill that was read in Parliament last August and would have given businesses the choice to trade over Easter weekend, but Labour and the Greens didn’t support it.

“The bill looked after workers as it retained the existing employee protections that apply in respect of Easter Sunday and extends these protections to Good Friday. The only reason it didn’t become law is petty politics.

“It just doesn’t make sense that bar staff spend much of Easter telling customers when they can drink, how long they have to drink it, how much they are required to eat and what they have to eat. How about we start treating adults like adults?

“At my restaurant and bar in Nelson, our staff have to lecture adults about how they can have a glass of wine with a salad but not with a bowl of fries. On Easter Saturday you have a drink at a pub, on Sunday you have to eat a meal within an hour of a drink.

“ACT will keep standing up for Kiwi businesses by removing unnecessary burdens. The Easter restrictions on trading need to go."

© Scoop Media