SpeechSALE AND SUPPLY OF ALCOHOL (EXEMPTION FOR RACE MEETINGS) AMENDMENT BILLSecond ReadingHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National) on behalf of Ian McKelvie (National—Rangitīkei): I move That the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Exemption for Race Meetings) Amendment Bill be now read a second time. This is a bill in the name of my colleague and friend Ian McKelvie and I'm pleased to take the first call in the second reading on his behalf. The bill amends section 235 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012. When this bill was considered at first reading it was deemed to be a conscience issue and therefore there was a personal vote. I know Mr McKelvie was pleased that the bill did pass that first reading in order that the Governance and Administration Committee could have a good look at it. While the committee in its report back did not make a recommendation that the bill proceed because it was a conscience vote I hope I'm able through this contribution to convince those that were confident enough at first reading that the bill should pass through further stages. And I'll explain what the committee heard and did as a consequence of that deliberation. Now section 235 is the Use of unlicensed premises as place of resort for [the] consumption of alcohol"; drinking dens effectively although "place of resort" isn't defined further in the Act. The need for this bill arose because a number of small race meetings that have been a great tradition of New Zealand—often summer—life were perceived to be under threat because of the way police and the licensing authorities were deeming them relative to section 235. Simon Court: Wowsers!Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: Well you may very well say that Mr Court but I wouldn't possibly comment. We heard 22 submissions and they were pretty much divided between the sort of alcohol health watch - type authorities who were opposed to this bill and people in the local communities and the racing industry who supported the bill. Now I want to say from the outset that those who opposed the bill—I and other members of the committee absolutely agree with them that there is a risk of harm from inappropriate and excessive consumption of alcohol. But I submit that in order to reduce that harm one needs to make sure that the risk is managed where it occurs. And my interpretation of the submissions that we heard in support of this bill was that wherever that risk may occur it is not at our country race meetings. Now ever since I was a child—certainly for most of the last 20 years—I've been a regular attender at the Central Otago Trotting Club's annual race meeting in the beautiful town of Ōmākau in the Matakanui Valley. Now Ōmākau only has about 250 people but the population swells to about 7000 on the day of the trotting meeting. I go every year with my family we sit under a tree with a picnic blanket chairs and a chilly bin a couple of beers you know a wine or two and we catch up with friends and family. The racing is almost incidental. Certainly having a glass of wine with our lunch is incidental. And for nearly 100 years that went without a hitch until about 2016 in the wake of a court case around place of resort definition that had nothing to do with racing. But as a consequence the police then started to become more active in opposing licences where BYO at race meetings would be enabled. And it really was prompted by the Central Otago Trotting Club and others like it that Mr McKelvie introduced this bill. So I want to commend them and Graham Sinnamon who came to present on the bill.I want to just elaborate on harm or the absence of it at the race meeting that I attend and love every January. The trotting club provided evidence from St John and the local GP practice of the typical event. I was there in January 2016 where St John at the event recorded six casualties amongst which were two headaches one sunburn two other skin injuries and one fainting. The local GP practice reported seeing 27 patients on that day none of which presented after having been at the Ōmākau races. Centennial Health in Tarbert St in Alexandra also saw a number of patients that day one of which came from the Ōmākau races and that was a muscle strain in a lady who raced in the family fun race day. Now police also told me when I was the Minister of Police in 2015 that in the 15 years since they have had alcohol breath testing screening testing at the exit to the Ōmākau races in those 15 years with who knows maybe 50000 cars having gone through breath tests one failed. There was no conviction because it was actually tested on a private part of the land and therefore wasn't on a public road at the time. It was more a prevention issue. One failure out of 50000 cars in 15 years. That says to me that BYO at small races is not a problem. Now there was an element of the bill that did need tightening up because the way the bill was introduced it had a much broader definition of a race meeting than the Governance and Administration Committee were comfortable with. So in essence we'd be giving a pass to the Riccartons and the Addingtons and so on. That was not the intention. The intention was to enable BYO at the smaller race meetings so we've changed the definition to make it very clear that what we're talking about is race meetings. I think there has to be no more than three a year at the club and that's appropriate because it's not broader than that. That's not the problem we're trying to solve. Now police were very helpful and provided good testimony about how they determine a place of resort. And on their website they have three features that need to exist all three of which need to exist in order for place of resort to be considered. They are people gathering specifically to drink rather than just incidental; drinking that reaches a certain threshold of intensity involving more than isolated or casual consumption; and the BYO aspect being "actively facilitated." Now all three of those things need to be present according to police before they would take action or oppose a licence application. Unfortunately that's not been—well the submissions that we got from racing clubs suggested that what police were doing seemed to be at odds with their own guidance on place of resort. And I'm not being critical of police. They are taking a harm minimisation approach and I understand that. But the important thing as I see it is to make sure that risk is managed where it occurs. It's not occurring at the Ōmākau or Wairoa or Mataura or Roxburgh racing clubs and therefore this very very longstanding tradition of summer carnival races where people go along to go in the family fun race to do the fashion in the field and the other—you know the tombola and the rides around the volunteer fire engine that the kids will do and maybe have a glass of wine under the tree with their lunch—should continue because that is not where the harm occurs. So despite my support for this concept I did take an objective look at the risk to make sure that we weren't creating unintended consequences. And with the exception of the definition of which race meetings we were talking about which we fixed I'm satisfied that this bill can proceed without there being an increase in harm from alcohol consumption. And I think it behoves us as a House to make sure that we do put our efforts towards identifying that risk and reducing it where it occurs. This is not where it occurs. So I'm glad that those members of the House took the step to refer this bill to the select committee. I want to give them the confidence that the committee having considered it carefully was satisfied that the risks of harm are low and that there is merit in the bill proceeding so that this summer and every summer we can continue—those who do—to enjoy our summer carnivals under the tree in those beautiful spots right around the country and have a glass of wine or a beer incidental to our picnic as we always have."