Hipkins Chris: Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill — In Committee 
Hipkins Chris: Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:668;Page:15107] 
CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) 
: 
 I intend to vote in favour of this particular part Part 5 of the Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill although I still have reservations about the bill overall consistent with the concerns that Labour members have raised during earlier stages of this debate. I followed the debate over the weekend’s events at Eden Park with some interest. It would be fair to say that I have mixed views on these matters because although there are clearly some issues with our current laws on the sale and supply of alcohol I believe that a great amount of personal responsibility is involved. Although a small minority made a mess caused disruption and so on the vast majority of people who go to these events and have a few drinks there behave very responsibly. We should not punish the vast majority who behave very responsibly because of the actions of a small minority. I think that Parliament has always faced this dilemma when it is dealing with issues like the sale and supply of alcohol. That is the perspective I bring overall to the question of whether the new powers in this bill are appropriate for the sale and supply of liquor during the Rugby World Cup. 
One thing we need to be very clear on is that these provisions do not apply just to stadia; they actually apply across the board to any liquor licences associated with Rugby World Cup events. It is not just stadia we are talking about and that is an important distinction to make. The provisions can apply to pubs and they can apply to temporary venues that are established specifically for the Rugby World Cup and so on. They will all be covered by these licensing requirements. One change however that the select committee made which I think is important to understand is that all stadia will be required to have Rugby World Cup liquor licences even if they already have an existing liquor licence. The select committee wanted to ensure that there was consistency in the licensing at stadia throughout the country and that police had access to those extra powers they have under a Rugby World Cup liquor licence. Basically we have effectively said that if there is a liquor licence already in existence for a stadium and that stadium is hosting a Rugby World Cup match a Rugby World Cup liquor licence will still be needed. I think that is really important. It will allow the Rugby World Cup Authority to impose a standard set of conditions for example around the drinking vessels to be used such as plastic cups. 
I am a regular attendee at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington and it already has a policy of having only plastic cups. Bottles cannot be taken into the stadium and I think that works fine. I see no reason why it cannot work at other stadia around the country. We have to recognise that cans and glass bottles and even heavy plastic bottles can be really dangerous if they are hurled through the air and they hit somebody on the head. Plastic cups can cause a limited amount of damage—at most people will get a bit wet if somebody decides to start throwing around plastic cups full of alcohol. But we are limiting the risk of innocent people who are behaving responsibly having what would otherwise be a perfectly enjoyable event spoiled by a very small minority who behave irresponsibly at these events. I come back to the comment I made at the beginning. The vast majority of people who want to watch a Rugby World Cup match will behave responsibly and we should not punish them because of the irresponsible actions of a small minority. 
One of the other provisions in this bill that differs from the Sale of Liquor Act is that anyone holding a Rugby World Cup liquor licence will be required to have water freely available for people who are drinking at those venues. I think that is a huge advance. Parliament may well have the opportunity to consider this when we look further down the track at wider amendments to the laws pertaining to the sale and supply of liquor. At the moment there is no obligation on those selling liquor in a pub or a bar to supply water free of charge and there are some extreme examples of establishments going out of their way to prevent people from getting water out of taps so that they can extract a significant amount of money out of the sale of bottled water. Maybe it should be a requirement overall for pubs to have a free and ready supply of water. That is something that Parliament may have the chance to consider further down the track.