Restrictions on trading over Easter have frustrated Auckland retailers desperate for business in the wake of four Covid-19 lockdowns.

Only shops selling certain goods can legally trade on Easter Sunday, and those breaching conditions can be fined up to $1000.

But Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says critics have left it too late, as the process to change trading rules can take over a year.

Local government has had the power to rule on whether retailers can open on Easter Sunday since the National government passed the responsibility down in 2016.

Prior to this, only shops that sell necessities, such as dairies, service stations, and pharmacies, were given exemptions to trade.

Thirty-nine of the country’s 67 councils have created bylaws to date allowing retailers to open if they want, but Auckland, Wellington, and other major centres remain opposed.

Newmarket Business Association chief executive Mark Thomas said the restrictions are “ridiculous and out of date”.

“There are so many discrepancies in the law it seems a bit ludicrous,” he said.

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