[7] In 2006, Māori Language Commissioner Haami Piripi proposed to make Matariki an official holiday.

[9] Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on 7 September 2020 that her government would create a new public holiday to celebrate Matariki should the Labour Party win the 2020 general election.

[10] Labour won the election, and in February 2021 Ardern announced that Matariki would become an annual public holiday with a variable date (June or July).

[20] Around 44 councils, covering around one-third of the population, have set policy allowing trading on Easter Sunday.

Exact dates of the various provinces' anniversary days are not specifically stated in the act, and are instead determined by historical convention and local custom.

The regions covered are set by provincial district (as they stood when abolished in 1876), plus Southland, the Chatham Islands, South Canterbury, and Northland.

In addition to the above holidays, from 1 April 2007 all workers must be given four weeks annual leave, often taken in the summer Christmas – New Year period.

Many retail outlets also hold sales at this time to stimulate business while others close down due to low demand for services.

The public counters of most government departments do open on weekdays during this period, though often only a limited service may be available.

[citation needed] State schools have a 4-term year, of about ten weeks each and usually with a two-week holiday between terms.

A "one off" national public holiday, known as Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day, was declared by the Prime Minister for 26 September 2022 to allow people to pay their respects for the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch of New Zealand.

[29] Following the death of Sir Edmund Hillary in 2008, the Green Party proposed a public holiday in his honour.

[31] From the 1950s to the 1970s it was frequently suggested that the Provincial Anniversary holidays be abolished, as the Provinces ceased to exist in 1876.