Wong Pansy: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill — Procedure Referral to Health Committee In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Speaker Recalled  Speaker Recalled In Committee Procedure 
Wong Pansy: Smoke-free Environments Amendment Bill — Procedure Referral to Health Committee In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Speaker Recalled  Speaker Recalled In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:613;Page:9980] 
PANSY WONG (National) 
: 
 I want to share with the public the fact that this bill does not prohibit the smoking or selling of cigarettes. The way the bill is drafted makes very interesting reading. I wonder how many retailers know that there is a very specific and detailed requirement about the signage they have to have if they sell tobacco. I really would appreciate the member in the chair Steve Chadwick taking a call to explain the signage specification. Section 23A(1)(h) in clause 8A states that the signage has to be displayed at each point of sale and that the words “Smoking Kills” has to be printed in black. I wonder why it does not have to be painted in red to remind people that it is the red Labour Party that intends to dictate to people in every walk of life how they should behave and breathe. 
Anyway the words have to be printed in black and within a black rectangular border that is no wider than an upper case letter “i”. But it also states in paragraph (h)(iii) that those words have to be in the typeface known as Helvetica. I would like the member to take a call and explain to me what that typeface is. What if the retailers fail to express their signage in a Helvetica typeface? Subparagraph (iv) states that it also has to be “in roman font and upper case and lower case letters as it is set out above; and (v) the word ‘Kills’ has to be centred below the word ‘Smoking’; ”. This is ridiculous. If we believe that smoking is bad for people why does that member not go upfront and have a referendum on banning smoking instead of making the lives of retailers hell but continuing to make the selling of cigarettes legal? 
Unlike the Minister with responsibility for Auckland Issues Judith Tizard I took the trouble to ring up restaurants and bars in the fantastic Auckland Central area. They are diverse and exciting places. I got a sample of 50 bar and restaurant owners who would like to be exempt from this legislation including our very own Cigar Lounge Bar of the Stars Rose and Crown Tavern the Corner Bar and The Elbow Room Auckland Central. I am reading out these names so that when the good people from other parts of New Zealand visit Auckland Central they will know there is a wide choice of fantastic restaurants and bars there. They include: Starks; The Oval; Safari Lounge; Beaches; Verona Café; Harlequin Bar and Café; Hobson’s Lounge Bar; Suede in Symonds Street; QF Tavern; Kenny’s Bar and Grill; Spice Bar; Tabac; Occidental Belgian Beer Cafe; Float; Tavern; O’Neil’s Point Irish Pub; The Muddy Farmer; The Playhouse; Bubble; Lenin Restaurant and Bar; O’Carolls Irish Bar; Sponge Restaurant; The Paddington; Bar De Baz; Queens Head Tavern; Creole Bar and Brasserie; Mr Luckies Cafe; No. 17 Albert Street; Lime at Ponsonby; Pickle; Plum; 24 Seven Bar; Kings Arms Tavern; Allpress Espresso; Quay Sports Bar; Danny Doolan’s; Euro; Green Room; Shed 5; PogMahones; Chicane; Platform 54; the Viaduct Grill; Pasha; and The Drake. 
That is a sample of just 50 restaurants and bars in Auckland Central. When I talked with their owners they said they could make very sensible decisions themselves. They said they knew that their patrons would perhaps not like to be exposed to smoke during their meal so they have separate smoking and non-smoking areas. Usually the patrons of those establishments are very understanding. I do not understand why the member in the chair and the minority Labour Government are hell-bent on not allowing those good responsible people to have a choice about whether their patrons can smoke in their establishments. Certainly they are entrepreneurs who understand that for their business to prosper they can carry out only those practices that are welcome to and popular with their patrons.