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Story: Shops

Holiday trading breaches

Video file

Watch footage of Bunning's hardware warehouse opening on Easter Sunday 2009 in breach of law at that time. Until the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 was amended in 2016 giving territorial authorities the ability to decide whether shops in their districts could open on Easter Sunday, most shops were required to close. Retailers saw the fine of $1,000 as a small price to pay compared with the money they made by opening.

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Shops – Unions, pay and working hours, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/21226/holiday-trading-breaches (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 6 April 2010, updated 19 February 2026.