Dean Jacqui: Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Extended licensing hours during Rugby World Cup) Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDean Jacqui: Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Extended licensing hours during Rugby World Cup) Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 12 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5734. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): It is a pleasure to rise to speak on the Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Extended licensing hours during Rugby World Cup) Bill and to look forward to this bill being considered by the Justice and Electoral Committee.Reading the debate notes and reading the bill take me right back to the previous Rugby World Cup and the empowering legislation that this House put through to expedite some of the matters around the previous Rugby World Cup. Having done that I remember the excitement that gripped New Zealand during that Rugby World Cup as our All Blacks of whom we are all so proud did so very well. Those many many gatherings that we had in New Zealand were of course within our time frame so that suited us all very well. I was involved in organising quite a large series of events around North Otago and it was very satisfying to be part of that. Rugby fans and families alike certainly turned out for a number of these fanzone opportunities to see the games on the big screens have food festivals and all sorts of things surrounding the Rugby World Cup when we took it away last time.Having said all that this is not the case for this coming Rugby World Cup because of course the time zones are completely different and we are going to find ourselves having to get up in the very early hours of the morning to enjoy the matches if that is what we want to do and there are many of us who will do that. Although some of us enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit while we watch the rugby other people like to go down to the pub and enjoy a beer and that is what this bill on behalf of David Seymour is going to allow us to do assuming it has a successful passage through the House which indeed I hope it does.The Justice and Electoral Committee will consider a number of matters around this bill. I think it is worthwhile to remind ourselves that if the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act does provide for special licences to be granted for this kind of event why it is that this bill is before the House. It is to expedite those events as this Parliament did for the previous Rugby World Cup for people to have the opportunity to watch their beloved game of rugby.It is worth noting that upon the passage of this bill—and I am anticipating that it will go through—it will not in any way negate the current requirements for host responsibility which people with liquor licences have under the special licence regime at the moment. There would be the same degree of host responsibility and the same degree of criteria with those liquor licences as exist in the current legislation. What this bill is doing is expediting the opportunities for New Zealanders to go down to the pub watch the rugby and then I would imagine have a good hearty breakfast before they go off and bask in the glory of yet another glorious win on behalf of the All Blacks team—I just know it is going to happen.There will still be those requirements around intoxication so I think the argument that this bill may encourage binge drinking will not be borne out. Host responsibility acts against binge drinking now and no provision in this bill will allow for or encourage binge drinking. The host of the licensed premises will still be obliged to turn away people who clearly have had too much alcohol.The point of difference that the National Party which supports this bill has is around the very strong case for these provisions to apply only to All Blacks games. Why would we not be one-eyed? It is the Rugby World Cup for goodness’ sake! Why would we not be one-eyed about the All Blacks? So I think a point of difference with the author of the bill would be around games that involve the All Blacks and games that involve the elimination rounds—perhaps the semi-finals quarter-finals those sorts of things. These matters will be considered by the select committee in the very fast turn-round before we return the bill on or around 26 August. The committee is prepared to work hard on this bill and to return a good result to the House.