Like Good Friday, Easter Sunday is a day when shops are closed. There are 3 and a half days when shops are closed: Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and the morning of ANZAC Day (before 1pm).
However, some shops have an exemption which means they are allowed to stay open. Shops in tourist areas like Taupo and Queenstown can stay open. Dairies and petrol stations can also stay open but can only sell essential food, for example baby milk powder or pet food, and only enough for one day. Garden shops cannot open on Good Friday but they can open on Easter Sunday.
If a shop breaks the law, the owner or manager can be fined $1,000. Some garden centres prefer to stay open on Good Friday and pay the fine.
On-line shopping, of course, continues 365 days a year.
To hear more about Shop Trading Laws, listen to December 26th 2014
Finally, did you put your clock back one hour this morning? Daylight Savings finished today. Listen to March 29th 2012 and click on the link to September 4th 2011 to hear more about Daylight Savings and why we have it.
Vocabulary
- exemption (n), exempt (v – often passive) – free from a law or a duty
- essential – necessary