\u201cJust because something\u2019s always been that way doesn\u2019t mean that that\u2019s a good reason to keep it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The general requirement is that patrons have to order a \u201csubstantial meal\u201d, but McAnulty said that was not defined, and patrons were not required to eat it anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a bit of a farce of a situation. So all we\u2019re doing is clearing it up that those businesses that are already able to operate anyway can do so under normal conditions, and those that can\u2019t, like off-licences and supermarkets, they remain restricted, but for those on-licences that are already operating, they can do so normally.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bill is up for its third reading today. Exactly when depends on other legislation scheduled to be debated first.<\/p>\n
If the bill passes, it is possible it may receive Royal Assent tomorrow, in time for Good Friday.<\/p>\n
McAnulty said the timing was a \u201csticking point,\u201d but as some Government bills were scheduled to receive Royal Assent on Thursday, he was hopeful his could be included alongside those.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite fortuitous timing, I think, the way that it\u2019s played out. And really, we\u2019re at the mercy and availability of Her Excellency, and I\u2019m not of a mind to flick a text to the Governor-General and ask for a solid, so I\u2019m quite happy with the way that it\u2019s played out, and hopefully it does follow through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parliament treats alcohol legislation as a conscience matter, meaning MPs vote according to their personal view or what they think is best for their electorate or community, rather than as a party bloc.<\/p>\n
It means some of McAnulty\u2019s own Labour colleagues may choose to oppose his bill, but the MP was optimistic he had the numbers across the House to pass.<\/p>\n
McAnulty\u2019s original intent was to allow any premises that were allowed to operate on those public holidays to sell alcohol, which would have included supermarkets but not bottle shops.<\/p>\n
But he said it was changed to keep things simple, and only apply it to on-licence venues.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s proven to be the right decision, because we\u2019ve maintained enough support in Parliament,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that if we\u2019d stuck with off-licences or supermarkets, there are people that would have withdrawn their support, and it probably wouldn\u2019t have passed.\u201d<\/p>\n
An amendment proposed by Act MP Cameron Luxton has been adopted into the bill.<\/p>\n
ACT MP Cameron Luxton. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Luxton\u2019s amendment means bars can open after midnight on Anzac and Easter holidays. McAnulty said that was consistent with the intention of the bill, and he was happy to support it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that the hospitality businesses in Christchurch are very happy about that, because when their stadium opens and people leave, they won\u2019t have to then be kicked out of the hospitality businesses at midnight because it\u2019s Anzac Day the following day.\u201d<\/p>\n
McAnulty, a Catholic, was less concerned with religious opposition to the bill, but understood why people might be opposed on health grounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a valid concern, but because the bill only targets those on-licensed premises that are already able to operate, it\u2019s actually not going to expand the number of premises that can provide alcohol. It just means they don\u2019t have to jump through these ridiculous hoops in order to be able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is not the only piece of legislation that would liberalise alcohol trading laws to pass through Parliament this term.<\/p>\n
The Government is working through its own piece of legislation to allow restaurants with on-site retail spaces to sell take-home alcoholic beverages, if they also sell takeaway food or non-alcoholic beverages prepared by the business.<\/p>\n
Luxton\u2019s own member\u2019s bill to repeal alcohol restrictions on Good Friday and Easter Sunday was voted down at first reading in 2024.<\/p>\n
Another bill by National\u2019s Stuart Smith to allow winery cellar doors to charge visitors for samples and add off-licence categories for wineries holding an on-licence passed successfully through the House in 2024.<\/p>\n
-RNZ<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cJust because something\u2019s always been that way doesn\u2019t mean that that\u2019s a good reason to keep it,\u201d he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357669,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[20784,5195,3595,124,12205,171628,4999,96265,2219,6101,111,43,139,69,90,54895,667,10809,4767],"class_list":["post-357668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-alcohol","tag-be","tag-by","tag-could","tag-dexter","tag-easter","tag-friday","tag-giles","tag-gone","tag-good","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-restrictions","tag-sales","tag-sunday","tag-weekend"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357668\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}