SpeechREPEAL OF GOOD FRIDAY AND EASTER SUNDAY AS RESTRICTED TRADING DAYS (SHOP TRADING AND SALE OF ALCOHOL) AMENDMENT BILLFirst ReadingCHRIS BAILLIE (ACT): Thank you Mr Speaker. I move That the Repeal of Good Friday and Easter Sunday as Restricted Trading Days (Shop Trading and Sale of Alcohol) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Education and Workforce Committee to consider the bill.I'm really pleased to introduce this bill and I know business owners throughout the country will be very happy at the moment at least. This is a bill that is long overdue to ensure there is consistency as to when shops can trade and the silly rules around the sale of alcohol can be made more grown up. The bill seeks to remove an extra burden on businesses by removing the restriction on trading and selling alcohol on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. On these days businesses are prevented from opening or are unnecessarily restricted in their operations. These restrictions may have been necessary in the past but they are not required in 2022.The impact of this is felt most severely by small businesses who generally have a smaller pool of cash reserves and tighter allowances. Small businesses make up 97 percent of all businesses and employ around 30 percent of the total New Zealand working population. By removing these restrictions trading will be permitted throughout these days allowing businesses to decide themselves which days they would like to open. The bill retains the existing employee protections under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990 that apply in respect of Easter Sunday and extends these protections to Good Friday. Sections 8 to 13 of the bill set things out quite clearly regarding employees' rights. An employee can choose whether they would like to work or not and the rights and obligations of both employers and employees are very well-defined. I know some employees are happy with the time off; however others are really happy to work and receive the benefits that working a stat holiday provides them—time and a half and a day in lieu to take off whenever it suits them.We are slowly but surely coming out of an economic crisis that the world hasn't seen for a very long time. Throughout the last 2½ years businesses have tried very hard to stay afloat and to keep their staff employed while having a huge number of extra costs piled on to them. The old adage If business was easy everyone would be doing it" could not be more true. But everyone is doing it tough at the moment and there should be choice for both the businesses to open and the employees to work. The experiment that began in 2006 to allow councils to decide the rules has failed. This bill is needed to take the burden away from the individual regions.Currently councils throughout the country have to decide whether their town or city is worthy of the status "tourist destination". This has led to a huge inequity between regions that are quite ludicrous. For example Carterton can open; Ashburton can't. Marlborough can open; Christchurch can't. Napier can open; Hastings can't. Upper Hutt can open; Wellington Porirua and Hutt City can't. Tasman can't—unless you live in Golden Bay. Nelson shops cannot open unless Founders Park is open. Founders Park is as a heritage park featuring historical themes like buildings and transport.Or how about this one in Auckland? Only these shops selling certain goods can legally trade on Easter Sunday: service stations dairies restaurants cafes takeaway food duty-free stores garden centres or shops on Parnell Road between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. I'm sure the hard-working business owners in Queen Street will be asking why their MP doesn't support them like the MP for Parnell does his constituents. Little wonder everyone's confused. The rules have become so complicated and subjective no one understands them.Retail New Zealand point out quite correctly that it is completely hypocritical of councils to try and ban shopping while their own services continue to operate. Across the country there are swimming pools leisure centres landfills and recycling shops that open at Easter. If it's acceptable for local councils to open why can't retailers be given the choice?Part 2 of the bill refers to amendments to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012 and gets rid of the quite silly rules and regulations that leave hospitality venues scratching their heads and patrons wondering what on earth is going on with archaic laws that don't make any sense at all. This bill is about treating people like adults and currently the rules around serving alcohol at bars and restaurants over Easter treat people like irresponsible schoolkids.In my hospitality venue in Nelson I've spent the last 12 years dreading Easter because I know that my staff will spend a lot of their time apologising and explaining to sometimes irate customers who just can't understand the rules they are having to abide by. The stress this puts on staff is not fair. The fines for not following the silly rules are huge. Young wait staff have to tell middle-aged and elderly customers that they can't just have a bowl of chips for lunch even if they have a bowl of chips for lunch every weekend because the rules say that that's not a substantial meal. But if they have a little salad with it that's OK! You really can't make it up. Then staff have to tell them that once they've had their lunch they can only stay for another hour enjoying the sun or reading their book before they have to leave the area.Here's a quote from an esteemed member of the community: "There are businesses that are allowed to operate at the moment that have to go through this farce of policing what people are eating in order to be able to sell them alcohol." He continues "I think it's a ridiculous situation where if I went to a pub in an area which was allowed to operate on Easter Sunday and order a plate of chips I might not be allowed to buy a pint. But if that plate of chips includes a piece of fish I probably would be able to."—from Kieran McAnulty.Section 47 of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol 2012 states on Good Friday and Easter Sunday a person cannot be on licensed premises to dine if he or she is there at a time "(i) more than an hour before he or she starts (or is due to start) eating a meal; or (ii) more than an hour after he or she finishes eating a meal." Surely no one thinks this is acceptable. Tourists think we're joking. The inconsistency between hospitality venues when upholding these rules is blatantly obvious and creates more inequity between those who follow the law to the letter and those who are inclined to interpret things a little bit differently. Police have much better things to do with their time than worry about these archaic laws and I'd like to think that council alcohol licensing teams would prefer to be doing something else with their time.This bill is needed to bring some consistency and common sense to the Easter trading laws. I do have some sympathy for those who will argue for the status quo maybe because of religious beliefs or a belief that workers' rights might be affected. They will just want to leave things as they are. But things are broken and they need fixing. I think it's worth noting that 52 members of this 53rd Parliament took an affirmation when they took office; only 71 took an oath on the Bible. Times are changing. But more than two-thirds of councils have allowed Easter trading in their districts and it's time for a serious debate about the issue. Hear the pros and cons from submitters and consult with the very people this affects. This is all about choice. We live in a democracy and I believe businesses should be allowed to open if they want to and employees should be allowed to work if they want to. I look forward to the select committee process. I'm proud to present this bill to the House. Thank you."