Australia has already confirmed they will have a one-off public holiday for the National Day of Mourning on 22 September.
But BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope told Morning Report the government needed to be careful in making a call that would impose new costs on local business, even if it was just for this year.
Businesses had already suffered losses from the pandemic, he said.
"Certainly I don't think there's any problem with a memorial, I think there'll be a lot of people who will be wanting to attend that but to add another public holiday, as I said, at a time when many businesses have struggled is a bridge too far."
Even a half-day public holiday would still be costly for businesses, he said.
"We prefer not to have that."
He said there might be some businesses who voluntarily choose to close to observe the day of the memorial service.
"That's their choice, right? As opposed to having it imposed on them."
