A new transition agency will oversee the sport’s wind‑down and rehoming of dogs.

There's no denying many Australians jump at the chance to share a drink with friends and family during a leisurely public holiday.

But Australia's tight liquor trading laws heavily restrict what can and can't be sold over the Easter long weekend.

Good Friday and the Easter weekend are some of the only days of the year that have specific restrictions on alcohol sales.

If you're wondering what your options are ahead of, or during Easter, here's a state-by-guide to alcohol laws across the weekend.

READ MORE: Easter trading hours 2026: When shops are open this long weekend

NSW

It is prohibited to purchase alcohol takeaway on Good Friday in NSW, so most liquor retail outlets will be closed.

Most licensed premises will offer drinks in-house on Good Friday, though for some you may need to sit down with a meal.

Saturday will see regular trading hours for licensed premises and retail outlets.

On Easter Sunday, normal trading hours resume for licensed premises but most retail outlets will be restricted again and closed.

Victoria

The rules in Victoria are similar to those in NSW, with all bottle shops closed tomorrow.

On-premises purchases are allowed and will be offered at venues, restaurants and cafes.

Venues are generally allowed to start serving from noon, but if your local go-to is a brewery or a distiller, you can head over at 10am.

It's safe to say regular trading hours will resume Easter Saturday and Sunday – Victoria's liquor laws don't mention any particular restrictions.

Queensland

Similar to Victoria, Good Friday affects trading hours of licensed premises in Queensland.

Takeaway alcohol can't be sold, so retail outlets will be closed.

You can buy drinks at venues from 10am to midnight, but only with a sit-down meal.

READ MORE: Easter long weekend weather forecast: The states and territories set for a drenching

But beware – this is only permitted for substantial meals, roast beef with vegetables, lasagna, a stir-fry or a curry with rice, as per the state government's website.

You won't be served alcohol if you only order light snacks like hot chips, an entree or a kid's meal.

Furthermore, you'll only be served alcohol one hour before and after your meal – so keep an eye on the time.

Regular trading hours resume Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

READ MORE: The Easter long weekend is almost here – but not all Aussies get the same public holidays

South Australia

South Australia had all alcohol sale restrictions lifted after legal reforms several years ago.

That means there's no restrictions on the sale of alcohol on Good Friday, and for the rest of the weekend.

Venues can choose to be open over the weekend for purchases and takeaways.

Some liquor stores will be open all weekend, while others will close to observe the Easter publi holidays.

Western Australia

Liquor stores will be closed on Good Friday in Western Australia.

However, people will be allowed to have a Good Friday drink with a meal in most clubs, hotels, pubs, and restaurants.

Clubs will remain open until 3am.

Regular trading hours resume for the rest of the weekend.

READ MORE: All the roads where double demerits don't apply this Easter long weekend

Northern Territory

Takeaway sales are restricted on Good Friday.

You can still buy drinks at venues like restaurants, bars and clubs between 11am to 9pm so long as you buy a full, sit-down meal as well.

No finger foods, sandwiches and pies for those bargaining for a drink too – the territory's website says.

Australian Capital Territory

The ACT doesn't have any restrictions on alcohol sales or trading hours on Good Friday.

Despite this, many liquor retailers are still choosing to close, including Liquorland, BWS and Dan Murphy's.

They'll reopen for the rest of the long weekend across the territory.

Tasmania

Tasmania remains much the same with no restrictions on sales or trading hours over the long weekend.

But again, most retail stores will shut their doors on Good Friday, outside of select Liquorland stores.

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Australia would suffer a sharp recession under a prolonged war in Iran, according to an Oxford Economics report released as US President Donald Trump declared plans for three more weeks of intensified attacks.

The report ran a scenario where the global conflict continued and kept the Strait of Hormuz disrupted for six months, finding world growth would slow by 1.2 per cent and oil prices would rise above $US150 ($218) per barrel.

This would push global inflation to 7.7 per cent, near the 2022 peak.

READ MORE: Expert reveals whether Aussies will need to ration fuel

While this scenario would be temporary and eventually ease, the report found it would push the Australian economy into a "sharp recession". 

This would see GDP, the indicator for economic growth, fall 1.1 per cent by September.

"Excluding the pandemic, this would be the sharpest quarterly fall since the early 1990s," economist and report author Harry McAuley wrote.

Industries with the highest reliance on fuel, like transport, manufacturing and mining, would suffer the most.

The report noted that the opportunity for de-escalation of the war in Iran was "narrowing", with a prolonged conflict becoming increasingly likely.

Trump used his national address today to declare that war operations in Iran will intensify over the coming two to three weeks.

He also appeared to wash his hands of responsibility for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, after receiving little support from allies he'd continuously tried to cajole into doing the job.

"(Countries) should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on," the president said.

READ MORE: 'We'll come through this': PM details $1bn plan, defends lacklustre national address

"Build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait and get it, take it. Protect it, use it for yourselves."

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock warned that the war in Iran posed a "global recession risk" last month when her colleagues met to raise the cash rate for the second time in a row due to the global situation and a surprise inflation jump in January.

"We don't want to have a recession, but if it's hard to get inflation down, then we're going to have to deal with that, possibly," she said at the time.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has tried to downplay the risk of a recession, but has admitted that the longer the global conflict continues, the longer it will take for the economy to recover.

"The longer the shock drags out, obviously, the harsher the consequences for our economy, whether that's measured by inflation or by growth or by impacts on the labour market," he said at a press conference yesterday.

"I would remind people that we go into this quite severe global economic shock from a position of genuine relative economic strength."

READ MORE: Red meat shortage, price hikes coming if farmers can't secure more fuel

Australia's last technical recession occurred during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and ended almost 30 years of back-to-back growth. 

Before that, the last recession was the "recession we had to have" in the early 1990s.

A recession is most commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth in real GDP but the RBA notes it can have other, broader elements.

Australia's latest unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) was 4.3 per cent in February, rising from 4.1 per cent in January. 

While the figure alone is relatively low, it has been tracking upwards since October 2022.

The highest unemployment rate in the past decade was 7.4 per cent in June 2020 during the pandemic.

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Air NZ has apologised to affected passengers and said safety was a priority.

Angus Taylor has taken aim at Anthony Albanese following his national address last night.

Hastings councillors backed appointing Mike Paku, rejecting an amendment by 8-2.

Rahema Lingman says people are ‘going to extreme lengths’ amid the fuel crisis.

Now that the La Niña season is officially over, experts believe that Australia could be in store for a an El Niño episode later in the year.

The Bureau of Meteorology said that while the Pacific Ocean is in a neutral state set to last until at least late autumn, there are "strong signs that El Niño could emerge later this year".

"While sea surface temperatures are currently near average at the surface of the tropical Pacific Ocean, there is a large pool of abnormally warm water building beneath the surface," the bureau said.

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"This deep warm water is expected to emerge at the surface in the coming months, which increases the likelihood of El Niño."

The bureau said that most international forecast models also anticipate the conditions to emerge between late autumn and late winter before running into the second half of the year.

Some models have also suggested the potential for a strong or even super El Niño, however, that will not reflect the strength of its influence on Australian weather.

An El Niño system develops when warmer-than-average water lies at the top of the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and cooler-than-average water sits at the top of western tropical Pacific waters.

READ MORE: Several countries on tsunami watch after 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits Indonesia

The water surface temperatures play a role in wind and pressure changes in the overlying atmosphere, which act to reduce cloud and rainfall in parts of the country.

The forecast comes as the Bureau of Meteorology declared that the La Niña season ended on March 31.

The system began in spring last year and lasted six months, bringing above-average amounts of rain across large parts of Australia's north and central regions.

READ MORE: Marles defends PM's no-news national address

Despite bringing flooding in multiple states, the Bureau of Meteorology described the most recent La Niña episode as "relatively weak" due to the lack of wet weather it brought to some parts of the country.

"This is a good reminder that no two La Niña events are the same and their impacts can vary considerably from one La Niña to the next."

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The offending destroyed the once-tight family unit.

Tauranga and Western Bay to form water organisation – with Thames-Coromandel keen to join.