Simon Bridges questions NZ’s long summer break: ‘Are we still in holiday mode until March?’

Monday, 8 December 2025

The head of the Auckland Business Chamber says there are “solid reasons” for a shorter summer holiday period, but changing it would be hard.

Simon Bridges said people feel “entitled” to a long summer; however, he questioned whether the world has changed.

His comments came after a recent column in The Post suggested New Zealand’s summer break was too long.

In his column, Toss Grumley argued that the New Zealand summer break is too extreme.

“The summer break seems to be extending, leaving less room for leave later in the year. But the most concerning part is the ‘circle back mid-February’ mentality, which means while many are at work, they aren’t doing much productive work.

“This mentality of circle back in February seems to start late November or early December. But having 10 weeks of no productive conversations simply isn’t good for business,” Grumley said.

Speaking to Stuff, Bridges said there is “objective merit” in the thought that New Zealand’s summer holiday break is both too long and in the wrong place.

He referenced talks he has had with international businesspeople who see New Zealanders as “life stylers,” more interested in their work-life balance than in growing the economy.

“There is a view that New Zealand just shuts down not just for Christmas and New Year but in many cases all the way through to March.

“Even when businesses are physically back at work many are ‘easing into it’ not properly working until rather later than their actual holidays.

“People will say in November, ‘I will come back to you in March’ hence the phrase ‘mad March’ when things actually start to feel fully on again.”

Bridges said this attitude is increasingly not cutting it overseas when trying to attract potential investors.

“With the odd week of national holiday, most of Asia including China and India are always on, communicating quickly and expecting quick responses. If you want to do business with them, you need to be in that mode as well.”

Bridges added there was merit in arguing for a shorter break around Christmas and New Year, with other breaks in the middle of the year.

This could be more productive for business as well as the wider economy as people are more refreshed and rested all year round,” he said.

Meanwhile, the head of Retail NZ has called the summer holiday period a “tradition” that benefits retailers.

Carolyn Young told Stuff she doesn’t know many businesses that say “get back in touch with us in February”.

“It is a time when sales are crucial for retail. And because people are off work, we get those sales through in December, and we get those Boxing Day sales. And so they're really important from a business executive perspective.”

Young said the summer break was a “critical time” for retailers.

“It is not like it was in the 70s when everything closed down and the shops were closed and everything like that. We moved with modern times, and we are open and we're expecting people to be in the store,” she said.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was asked about the issue on Newstalk ZB on Monday, during an interview with Heather du Plessis-Allan, who was filling in for Mike Hosking – himself on a seven-week summer break.

Luxon joked that Hosking “only works, like, three hours a day for 35 weeks a year,” before offering his own perspective, as someone who spent 16 years working in the United States.

There, he said, workers “maybe get two weeks’ annual leave”, Christmas is “a couple of days off”, and people generally return to work on January 3 or 4. He expects to do the same this year.

New Zealand’s statutory leave allowances remain generous by international standards, and many sectors — including emergency services and retail — continue operating through the break.

Luxon declined to say whether the long Kiwi summer should change, saying only that “we’ve got a lot to sort out” and work will resume quickly in the new year.

“Well, it's just, you know, we've got a lot to sort out. We've got a lot to do. And we've got to keep moving.”

Can the country afford the extended shutdown? Or can it afford to lose the break?

Have your say in the comments and the poll.