Anglican Church leaders are lobbying hard against allowing more shops to open on Easter Sunday, arguing that "enough is enough where the continued intrusion of the market into our lives is concerned".
Anglican Archbishops Brown Turei and David Moxon and the Church's Social Justice Commissioner Anthony Dancer saidbusiness lobbyists who continued to press for more Easter Sunday trading need to be challenged.
"Easter, and particularly Easter Sunday, is the time in which we celebrate the God who gives us life. It's not a time for indulging ourselves in the marketplace," they said.
"Easter, and particularly Easter Sunday, is a time during which shops should remain closed."
The Government has invited submissions to the Department of Labour's Easter Trading and Holidays Legislation discussion document, which raises the prospect of changes to the Easter trading restrictions. Currently there are inconsistencies with retailers in popular tourist destinations allowed to trade while others have to close.
The church leaders said there was misconception at the centre of the debate that money mattered more than people's wellbeing.
"We are not, first of all, consumers. Nor are we businesses. Nor are we defined by markets. We are human beings. Human beings made, Christians believe, in God's image.
"And while our desires and our achievements are many, ultimately our desire must be for the God who gives us life."
