Shearer David: Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill — In Committee 
Shearer David: Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill — In Committee 
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DAVID SHEARER (Labour—Mt Albert) 
: 
 I want to mention that for the last couple of days I have been speaking to a number of constituents in my electorate of Mt Albert who have been very very concerned about what has happened in and around the Sandringham area. Obviously that concern is largely due as other speakers have said to the excessive presence of alcohol. So I have real concerns about Part 5 of the Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill which in many ways speeds up the process of opening new outlets and makes alcohol much more available and easier to get. This legislation will increase the number of outlets and that will make alcohol more available. 
What I do not like about Part 5 is that the time in which one can protest or object to an outlet being opened is a matter of only 5 days. The process is very ad hoc and moves very quickly. Yes the legislation does keep in place the same rules and regulations that would apply under any other system but the fact that the process is to be sped up I believe is probably not necessary. The period of the Rugby World Cup is really from 9 September through to 31 October. If we cannot plan for the number of liquor outlets that we think we will need before that time then it really is hard for me to understand why we will suddenly come up with the idea that we need to have an ad hoc liquor outlet here or there or a licence here or there for other purposes. 
I was appalled like many other people to watch the scenes on television during the test match. The point has been made that it was a rugby league test. I have been to many many rugby league test matches at Mt Smart Stadium etc. and I have never seen anything like that so I really hope that it is a one-off incident. The overwhelming conclusion was not only that what happened inside the stadium was bad enough—people throwing things and people have talked about glasses and softer containers for beer—but also that what happened outside the stadium was of concern to my constituents: bottles thrown all over the road fighting and loutish behaviour. 
Those people live in an area where they know there is a stadium. They bought property in the area knowing that Eden Park was there. Most of them did not know that Eden Park would be expanded to the extent that it has been. I do think that although the Rugby World Cup is incredibly important to us and is very important to the surrounding businesses in the area the rights of the residents need to be protected. I am not sure whether this part of the legislation does anything to give those residents comfort that they will be better served by having more outlets than they already have and by having a process that speeds up the granting of liquor licences. 
I have some concerns about this part. I have looked at the comments made by the police. The police at first voiced some concern about this part. They then relooked at it and decided not to protest against it. Certainly the St John Ambulance service said it did not support this part. In fact it believed that it would be to the detriment of the game and certainly to the image of New Zealanders if people needed to drink in order to watch sport. I want to see a Rugby World Cup where everybody enjoys themselves and where people can have a drink—and I certainly will be drinking—but I do not think we want to see a repeat of what we saw at the test match the other night. I have some concerns about this part of the legislation. In particular my concern is that there will be an increased number of liquor outlets in an area that already has a huge number of outlets and that the process of approving new outlets is likely to be sped up so that they are pushed through. Thank you Mr Chairperson.