QUEENSLANDERS wanting to celebrate or renovate over the Easter long weekend have been warned to stock up ahead of the southeast retail blackout.

Some smaller retailers are preparing to join major stores and supermarkets in staying shut on Easter Sunday.   :(

Most hardware stores, which traditionally do well over the Easter weekend as homeowners use their break for DIY projects, will shut down for three of the five days over the Easter break: Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Anzac Day, which this year falls on Easter Monday. :(

There is an extra public holiday on Tuesday in lieu of Easter Monday.

Coles stores in the southeast are expecting to be hit hard on Thursday night and again on Easter Saturday and have advised customers to shop outside those times if possible.

Since allowable trading hours in Queensland differ across the state and from business to business, consumers have been advised to check with individual traders about their trading hours.



Major stores such as David Jones, Myer, Coles, Woolworths and Bunnings will be shut on Friday, Sunday and Monday.   :(

But home, garden and living centre Hawkins in Brisbane's southside will be open every day except Good Friday to take advantage of one of its three busiest periods of the year.

Some Dan Murphy liquor outlets, operated by Woolworths, will be open on Sunday and from 1pm until 7pm on Anzac Day but many stores which don't have to close will choose to do so anyway.

Beenleigh Mitre 10 Mega store owner David Woodman believes people have turned away from traditional Easter DIY projects this year because of the longer break.

He said leisure, entertaining, barbecues and vegie gardening was strong at this time of the year.

Managing director for buying for ALDI, Stefan Kopp, said the German grocery giant specifically targeted its special buys campaigns to coincide with what consumers were doing for the time of the year.

Consequently, ALDI was offering gardening, DIY and cleaning specials in the weeks leading up to Easter.

Online retailer oo.com.au has reported an influx of demand for home decor goods on its site, with sales up 41 per cent in the past few weeks for furniture, home décor and soft furnishing products.

SHOPPING hour restrictions blocking city trading on public holidays will be relaxed on next month's Easter Tuesday.   :)

The Anzac Day and Easter holidays this year cross over to create a five-day weekend stretching from April 22-26 and business leaders have welcomed the relaxed trading hours as a win for shoppers.
The State Government will today announce trading between 11am and 5pm on the Tuesday, in line with standard Sunday operating hours.   :(

Industrial Relations Minister Bernie Finnigan said the exemption was sparked by "special circumstances" and did not mark the start of lasting shopping hours reform.

"Having some trading on the Tuesday gives an opportunity for some special focus on the city and hopefully there'll be some efforts to attract people and make a day of it in the city," he told The Advertiser yesterday.



"It's not a precedent or anything like that.

"It's just a very special or unusual circumstance when you have Anzac Day abutting Easter."

Business SA chief executive Peter Vaughan challenged Adelaide City Council and other stakeholders to back the initiative with free parking, entertainment and other public attractions.

Mr Vaughan said the move was good for consumers and shop workers seeking extra money on the holiday.   :)

"It is a real breakthrough to have shops throughout the CBD being able to trade on a public holiday," he said.

"Having shops closed for four out of five days over Easter would have been a disaster for the local economy. This is a commonsense decision."   ;)

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association state secretary Peter Malinauskas said the union had won guarantees from major retailers that no member would be forced to work against their will.

"Our position as a principle is that stores shouldn't be trading on public holidays," he said.

"But we acknowledge that there was a special circumstance that presented itself this Easter."

Rundle Mall Management Authority general manager Martin Haese said the decision sent a message that the city was open for business.

"Rundle Mall will turn on a festive atmosphere to entertain shoppers and anyone who wants to come and enjoy the precinct," he said.

Liberal MP for the state seat of Adelaide, Rachel Sanderson, has introduced legislation to Parliament that would allow all Rundle Mall shops to open on non-religious public holidays.


Comments on this story

   *
     JT of Adelaide Posted at 11:37 AM April 12, 2011

         Who says how I should spend my day off from work? If I want to go shopping, I should be able to go shopping. Same as if I wanted to go camping, spend time with family, what ever it is that some other people like doing. Each to their own. As a young person, I'm embarassed about how backwards this city is. Besides, I think you'll find that the majority of part time retail workers want the extra hours and extra money afforded to them by working on a public holiday.

   *
     Janice of Adelaide Posted at 1:40 PM March 19, 2011

         Anzac Day is the 25th. The 26th shouldn't be a holiday anyway.

   *
     hel of south Posted at 1:20 PM March 19, 2011

         sad that ANZAC day is the day that is being downgraded as a pulic holiday importance.....if shops have to be open would not the saturday be less upsetting to all concerned.

Open the shops 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and move Australia into the modern world.   ;)  

They are shutting over these periods because its too expensive to open you idiot.

Why do you want them open, you can go anytime since you dont have a job keeping you busy

and as Jesus hung upon the Cross
looking down at his Jewish people who had betrayed him.
He said: "Wait till me little brother Hitler gets yas!"

...2000 years later, he finally did.

Happy Easter :)

It_is_the_Darkness wrote on Apr 18^th, 2011 at 1:33pm:

and as Jesus hung upon the Cross looking down at his Jewish people who had betrayed him. He said: "Wait till me little brother Hitler gets yas!" ...2000 years later, he finally did. Happy Easter :)

....and the Jews got revenge on the world, their own state of Israel and Ben Bernanke and Bernie Madoff.....tit for tat!

and as for the shopping, mum and dad will have to buy 2 cartons on Saturday and no one in Qld has money to renovate. It's only two days, you will survive it even without food or nails.

Whats wrong Verge, frightened of paying the workers their penalty rates are you?.   :P  

wrote on Apr 18^th, 2011 at 3:10pm:

Whats wrong Verge, frightened of paying the workers their penalty rates are you?.   :P

We open 365 my friend and always pay people all their penalty rates.

I can fully understand why others shut, and on many occasions it would be cheaper for us to too.

Why do you advocate 24 a day shopping when you know its detrimental to business to do so?

More restaurants should open Good Friday: survey.   :)  


More than one third of Australians would like what they probably can't get this Good Friday: a nice meal out.

With most restaurants across the country closed on the religious holiday, more than one in three people say they would like to see them open their doors, a new survey has found.   ;)

Almost 40 per cent of Victorians and Tasmanians would consider dining out on Good Friday, closely followed by 37 per cent of South Australians.


Thirty-five per cent of people in NSW would be interested in a restaurant meal, according to the American Express Dining Insights Survey released today.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the 25 to 34 age group was the keenest to steer clear of a Good Friday night in.

This aligned with survey findings that showed 59 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds dine out at least once a week or more.

John Hart, head of the Restaurant and Catering Association, said if demand continued to grow Good Friday trading could become a viable option for restaurateurs.

"Many restaurants choose not to open on Good Friday because there simply hasn't been the demand for it and it can be very costly for operators," he said.

"It's encouraging to see a considerable number of Australians are keen to dine out on Good Friday."   ;)

Geoff Begg, head of Merchant Services Australia at American Express, said it was unsurprising that many were keen to head out on Good Friday, particularly as it kicked off the extra-long Easter break this year.

"Obviously, we understand that many businesses close to celebrate the religious holiday but for those keen to trade, there appear to be plenty of Australians looking to dine out," he said.   ;)