Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Extended licensing hours during Rugby World Cup) Bill

I move, That the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Extended licensing hours during Rugby World Cup) Bill be now read a first time. It gives me great pleasure to speak on this bill. However, I am going to keep my remarks very short. Several people have criticised the bill and Parliament’s use of time on this matter. This Parliament debates a great deal of matters, and I do not believe that it is anything but churlish to deny New Zealanders the opportunity to watch the rugby in a pub or club, surrounded by their friends, and that we should not begrudge a small amount of Parliament’s time to make that possible. Indeed, people have asked: “Is this needed?”. Well, the fact of the matter is that we do not need rugby. We do not need pubs. We do not need a Rugby World Cup. None the less, if we took our actions on the basis of what was absolutely needed, we would have a very dreary world indeed. So I turn the question round and ask why responsible New Zealand adults should not be able to enjoy watching the game amongst friends and families over breakfast perhaps, or coffee perhaps, or perhaps a pint in the fabulous clubs and pubs that our community is lucky to have.

The bill in its present form allows for licensed pubs and clubs to open outside normal licensing hours in certain circumstances. If a Rugby World Cup 2015 game or series of games begins within 2 hours of normal closing time, then that venue will be licensed automatically to stay open under its usual terms until 1 hour after the end of that game. If a game begins more than 2 hours after the usual closing time, then in that case the licensed venue can reopen—that is, serve alcohol—half an hour before kick-off and stay open until 1 hour after the game. However, there are several conditions. The primary purpose of that opening must be to watch the game. The venue must have at least one television, and it must have a system to ensure that watching the game is the primary purpose. It must display the details of its extensions prominently prior to the extension occurring. It must notify the district licensing authority and the police at least 1 week before the time of its opening.

Those are the details of the bill. I expect that there will be some changes in the Committee stage over the next 2 weeks. Democracy is about other people choosing from time to time. However, I would make just one point: the bill in its present form applies to all games of the Rugby World Cup. I would like to say that I am proud to live in a country that is one of the most diverse and harmonious societies that this world has ever seen. I am proud of the fact that when the Indian team won in the Cricket World Cup the celebrations in downtown Auckland seemed bigger than the celebrations in downtown Delhi. I am proud of the fact that at the last Rugby World Cup Mount Eden village in my electorate, if I remember it rightly, embraced being the cheer village for the Tongan team.

I hope that this House will see its way to have the bill passed for all games, reflecting that New Zealand is a country with a quarter of a million people of British descent, 50,000 Australians somewhere, many South Africans, Tongans, Samoans, and so it goes on. There are many nationalities or citizenships represented even in this House. None the less, politics is often the art of compromise and if this bill emerges as applying to at least the All Black games and finals, then that, I believe, will be a great victory.

I would like to thank my colleagues from around the House: from the National Party—

💬 Hon Clayton Cosgrove: Oh, so he’s been talked down by his National Party mates.

—and from the Labour Party, with the exception of Clayton Cosgrove. I would like to thank New Zealand First and, in particular, my colleagues in the Greens, who initially disagreed with this course of action but have shown that they can reach across the aisle and work for a positive outcome for New Zealanders, and, of course, my colleagues from the Māori Party and from United Future. All of us have had constructive discussions about this bill because it is fundamentally what New Zealanders want.

So with all of that in mind I welcome the debate. I hope that the bill will have a speedy passage through this House and will be able to enable people to do what they want, which is to responsibly enjoy using our community facilities when the games happen to be outside normal licensing hours, this 2015 Rugby World Cup. Most of all, despite what I have said about our diverse and harmonious culture, I really hope that the All Blacks win. I commend this bill to the House. Thank you.

Debate interrupted.