But eight inner city bars have mobilised to challenge a police decision to oppose late opening, with the issue set to go before a Dunedin City Council hearings committee next week.
Council liquor licensing and projects officer Kevin Mechen said the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 stated hotels and taverns should not open on the three and a-half "sacrosanct" days of Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and before 1pm on Anzac Day.
The Act allowed district licensing agencies to determine applications for special licences, and the council's sale of liquor policy stated special licences would be automatically granted to allow premises to stay open until 3am, or their licensed closing time, on those days.
As a district licensing authority, the council could not decline an application without a hearing, and that was set down for next Tuesday, with all applications to be heard together.
That way, the committee would need to deliberate just once, and one decision would cover all the applications.
In a memorandum to the committee, Mr Mechen said there was "a lot of discontent" within the hospitality industry about the sacrosanct days.
Police had indicated they had been advised by Police National Headquarters to oppose all special licences on the sacrosanct days.
Dunedin liquor licensing Constable Neil Kettings said there was no one incident that changed police thinking on the issue.
He said the police position was requests for late opening on sacrosanct days would be opposed.
Const Kettings said case law relating to the sacrosanct days was guiding police, and his letter responding to the applications included Liquor Licensing Authority decisions that noted the businesses were required to close on those days, and any changes to the restrictions should be made by Parliament through a law change.
The bars involved in the hearing were Pop, the 10Bar, Craft Bar, Ratbags, Metro, Di Lusso, Barakah and Southern Break.
Southern Break manager Yassine Al-Kaissi said there had been communication between the businesses on the issue.
The bars were applying, despite the police opposition, because the council had always approved special licences in the past.
The council's policy viewed the practice as acceptable.
"If policy is what policy is, policy should hold."
The early morning on Christmas Day was not a time that provided significant revenue for the bars, but "it's the option that we choose", Mr Al-Kaissi said.
People talked about the importance of Christmas, but less than 50% of New Zealanders were Christians, he said.
"What about people who don't have families?
"It's difficult for them as well. It gives them an option," Mr Al-Kaissi said.
